100 art-world Instagram accounts to follow right now: Tastemakers
Part four of our run-down of the hottest 100 art-world Instagram accounts that you might not already know about. In this instalment, the tastemakers
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Pari Ehsan, blogger, photographer, stylist
@paridust
Pari Eshan is the owner of Pari Dust — an account that operates at the intersections of art and fashion. Trained as an architect, she made her name styling avant-garde photo fashion shoots containing artworks. In 2014, she was nominated for the first ever Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Instagrammer of the Year Award and now regularly collaborates with galleries and art fairs. Recent shoot locations include New York’s Dia Art Foundation, Gagosian in Los Angeles and the Museo di Castelvecchio in Verona, Italy.
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Alex Eagle, Founder and Creative Director of Alex Eagle Studio
@eagletta
After earning her degree in art history, Alex Eagle had a successful career in PR. In 2014 she launched her namesake store-cum-gallery in London’s Soho, which has gone on to open satellite shops in Berlin and Oxfordshire. The retail space offers a carefully curated mix of fashion, homewares and art, all in line with Eagle’s achingly cool aesthetic.
As the former design critic for The New York Times and the Financial Times, and co-founder of Design Emergency — a project set up to investigate the role design can play in building a better future — the writer Alice Rawsthorn knows a thing or two about her field. On Instagram, over the course of several days, she delves into the history of a different design topic, whether it’s championing 19th century British women architects or the power of the colour yellow.
From the Australian writer and former Editor-at-Large of frieze magazine Jennifer Higgie comes an Instagram account dedicated to women in the arts. She shines a spotlight on underrepresented women and their work, with a lengthy caption highlighting key points in their career. It’s an extension of her podcast series Bow Down: Women in Art History, and her book The Mirror and the Palette: 500 Years of Women’s Self-Portraits.
An art historian by training and now an art advisor by trade, Izzy Lauder-Frost uses an Instagram as a diary of her visits to museums, art fairs and exhibitions around the world. Offering a fascinating mix of contemporary art and Old Masters — with the odd champagne soirée included for good measure — her account provides an entertaining take on working in the art world.
François Halard is a French photographer with a passion for architecture and interiors. He has shot for titles like Vogue, Vanity Fair and House & Garden, as well as the fashion designers Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent and Armani. He shares his inspirations and recent work, including polaroids taken for his book 56 Days in Arles. It’s a photo-journal of his time spent locked-down at his 18th century Provence home, which is filled with a wonderfully eclectic mix of antiquities, African masks and contemporary art — as well as the remnants of a lemon given to him by his friend, the late Cy Twombly.
Roberta Smith is the co-chief art critic for The New York Times. Her husband, Jerry Saltz, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic for the New York magazine, and author of the New York Times-bestselling book How To Be An Artist. Together, they have over half a million Instagram followers. Whilst Saltz is best known for his memes, Smith keeps her finger firmly on the contemporary art pulse, highlighting the latest shows that shouldn’t be missed.
The Belgian designer, curator and dealer Axel Vervoordt began trading antiques at the age of 14, carrying suitcases filled with paintings and furniture bought cheaply at English country-house clearances back to the continent. By 21, he was renovating 15th century houses in Antwerp. Today, his ‘humble luxury’ aesthetic is particularly admired by celebrities, including Kanye West, who first met Vervoordt at TEFAF and asked him to redesign his Los Angeles home. West said the minimalist result resembled a ‘futuristic Belgian monastery.’
To most of his millions of followers Choi Seung Hyun is known by the moniker T.O.P, and as a member of the hugely successful K-Pop boy-group Big Bang. However, he is also an avid art collector and budding curator, and between posts about music videos and fashion shoots he regularly shares images of masterpieces by the likes of Mondrian, as well as visits to contemporary artists’ studios.
After graduating from Stanford, and armed with a Masters in art law and business from Christie’s Education, Claudia Cheng set up her advisory business between London and Hong Kong. One of her specialities is championing women in the arts and she is currently a member of the Serpentine Galleries’ Future Contemporaries group for young philanthropists. On Instagram, she blends the lines between business woman and influencer, placing herself at the forefront of her shots from the hottest galleries.
As a style director for World of Interiors and a contributing editor for British Vogue, Gianluca Longo surely knows how to dress a house. Follow him on Instagram to see him split his time between some of the most beautiful places in England and Italy, and for a crash course in ‘tablescaping’.
The art historian, curator and broadcaster Katy Hessel is rewriting the history of art without men. Since launching her celebrated Instagram account @thegreatwomenartists in 2015, she has dedicated her career to championing women artists from the 1500s to the present day who have been left out of the canon. She also writes a fortnightly column for The Guardian and has recently published The Sunday Times bestseller The Story of Art Without Men. Follow Katy’s personal account for podcast, exhibition and book related news as well as snapshots of her with art-world heavyweights including Tracey Emin, Tacita Dean and Marina Abramovic.
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu, better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a rapper from south London who recently turned his focus to the contemporary art world. He has become a regular fixture at Art Basel — and has a soft spot for Yayoi Kusama and Keith Haring — and in January 2022 began presenting a show for the BBC that pairs members of the British public who have extraordinary stories with talented portrait artists in order to capture their likeness.
The Paris-based jewellery designer — and grandson of an antiquarian — Marc Auclert is at the forefront of the trend for wearing ancient jewels. He specialises in repurposing Classical artefacts, like cameos and coins, into fashionable pieces that are loved by celebrities — including France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron.
As the founder of Dazed, AnOther, AnOther Man and NOWNESS, Jefferson Hack has built a media empire on his eye for spotting talent and creating great content. On Instagram, the guru of what’s cool shares his current predilections and his latest magazine covers that feature icons like Virgil Abloh, Harry Styles, Zoë Kravitz and Willem Dafoe.
One of France’s most sought-after interior designers, Jacques Grange has described his style as ‘timeless, sophisticated, comfortable, artistic.’ His impressive client list includes Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, François Pinault and Princess Caroline of Monaco. On Instagram he showcases his eclectic taste and his talent for effortlessly mixing 18th, 19th and 20th century pieces.
Ashley Hicks is an English designer and the partner of Martina Mondadori, the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Cabana magazine. Together, they are an interior design power couple. Hicks is best known for his eclectic British taste — with a particular love of Neoclassicism. He uses social media to share his latest projects, from bold textile designs to sculpture, alongside some of his personal inspirations, including English cemeteries.
Flora Vesterberg, it seems, lives and breaths art history. After graduating from the Courtauld, the member of English high-society started offering private lectures and tours of galleries and exhibitions, and became ambassador for London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. She met her husband through auction house-connections and even celebrated her engagement by visiting the Fondazione Parada in Milan.
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Lauren Prakke, writer, curator and collector
@culturerow
Among her other impressive credentials, Lauren Prakke is the founder of Tate’s Young Patrons programme and a speaker at TEDx talks. Her Instagram is a mix of mood-lifting quotes, pictures of her favourite artworks and, more recently, a delve into the world of NFTs.
From his studios in London and New York, the Swedish architect and designer Martin Brudnizki has worked on some of the world’s most fashionable bars, hotels, members clubs and house, including art-world favourites The Ivy, Annbel’s, Soho House, Rosewood hotels and the Royal Academy. Follow his account for some serious design envy, as well as a guide to the latest hip places to be seen socialising.
View part 5 the 100 art-world Instagrams to follow right now: Museums and Galleries