The Best of 2023: According to 6 Painters Who Defined It

What is a typical day in the studio? Which soundtracks keep you painting? Ocula Advisors had the pleasure of sitting down with the painters behind some of this year's most talked about art world fixtures.

Joseph Yaeger was first off the block with his knock-out painting show at The Perimeter in London back in January. Nicolas Party followed with a run of exhibitions that saw him transform the modernist white box into his fantastical realms at galleries and museums around the world. And now, in a pocket of northern England that inspired the landscape paintings of both Party and David Hockney is Andrew Cranston's exceptional show at The Hepworth Wakefield, Yorkshire.

Ocula's advisors catch up with six painters to find out the sounds, exhibitions, restaurants, and trips that have topped their year.

Joseph Yaeger

Joseph Yaeger's 2023 exhibition, Time Weft at The Perimeter in London is among the best shows we've seen in a long time. As such, we went running to his solo exhibition Silent Treatment at Project Native Informant in East London, which saw his gesso experimentation reach new heights.

Joseph Yaeger, studio view. Photo: © William Waterworth.

Best Sound: The reedy, almost electric sound of my daughter's first cries being born.

Best Exhibition: I didn't see many exhibitions this year. However, I found Anna Glantz's recent show, Lichens, at The Approach, London (9 November–16 December 2023) quietly extraordinary. It was so free from the current trappings of form and figuration.

Best Restaurant: St JOHN, London.

Best Trip: I got stuck in Salt Lake City, Utah, for ten days on what should have been a six hour layover. My daughter, wife, and I came down with Covid-19, and I was surprised to find I didn't hate it there.

Best Christmas: Montana

Best Quote [as picked by us]: 'The feeling of welling, strong emotion is one I seek very, very regularly, but it's more about this private sadness.'—Joseph Yaeger in the Studio

Li Hei Di

Kicking off 2023 was the news that the young Chinese painter and Royal College of Art graduate joined Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London. The announcement followed a busy run for the London-based artist who was included in Gagosian's group exhibition Uncanny Valley in Hong Kong; a U.S. solo debut with Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles; and her first solo show with Pippy in 2024.

Li Hei Di in her London studio. Images courtesy of the artist and Michael Kohn Gallery. Photography by Kai Shui.

Best Sounds: My recent favourite is 'MARTEDÌ' (2021) by BLUEM.

Best Exhibition: Miriam Cahn at Palais de Tokyo, Paris.

Best Restaurant: Kolapata near Whitechapel—a great Bangladeshi restaurant with super reasonable prices!

Best Trip: A six-hour hike in Isle of Arran, on the east coast of Scotland, partially in the rain.

Best Christmas: I love every Chinese New Year when my friends take the responsibility of making dumplings and I can just lie down, do nothing, and eat.

Best Quote: 'The limitations of censorship is something I've always found funny. As a teenager at school, I remember wanting to paint naked figures but feeling restricted when I knew my parents would ask to see what I've been working on. Instead, I learned to paint a small section of the painting with something sexual.'—Li Hei Di in the Studio.

Michael Ho

The London-based artist has come a long way since picking up the paintbrush in 2020. This year, Ho was included in White Cube's group exhibition, New Moroism, in Hong Kong spotlighting the work of four artists part of a generation emerging from Asia in recent years. Following this, his paintings—which are painted from the back of the canvas—were the subject of Grotto Heavens, his solo exhibition at Gallery Vacancy in Shanghai.

Michael Ho Studio. Photo: William Waterworth.

Best Sounds: Currently on my top three are 'Killing Moon' (1984) by Echo & the Bunnymen, 'Maggot Brain' (1971) by Funkadelic, and 'Naive' (1990) by German industrial band KMFDM.

Best Exhibition: Martin Wong's retrospective, Malicious Mischief, at Camden Arts Centre. I'm obsessed with his sign language paintings.

Best Restaurant: Casse-Croûte in Bermondsey, London. Cute little French restaurant with amazing food and wine.

Best Trip: Spent five weeks travelling around Argentina. Highlights were the hikes in Patagonia.

Best Christmas: Cold weather, ideally should be snowing, indulge in food and spend time with loved ones.

Best Quote: 'Being queer complicated the question of belonging further, bringing me to a point where I felt homeless. Somehow, I found a sense of belonging in this in-between space. Conceptually speaking, home for me is now within that liminal space, which is what I'm exploring and visualising, particularly through my painting practice.'—Michael Ho in the Studio

Francesca Mollett

After graduating from Royal College of Art in 2020, Mollett joined coveted young gallery programmes in the U.K. and U.S., respectively. GRIMM hosted her solo exhibition, Halves at their flagship Amsterdam gallery during the city's art week. Micki Meng in San Francisco showcased Mollett's chromatic combinations earlier in the year in Low Sun.

Best Sounds: Seeing Rosalía perform live in Milan with my friend G; every moment was electric because of the intensity of her voice and ability to transform and embody different personas and types of femininity

Best Exhibition: Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. I was also especially blown away by a painting by Manet, Jeanne Duval, Baudelaire's Mistress reclining (Lady with a Fan) (1862), exhibited in Manet/Degas, Musee d'Orsay, Paris. The day after I bought The Baudelaire Fractal (2020) by Lisa Robertson from After Eight books, which also ends on an image of this painting—not so much a coincidence—but still very fun when images and readings align. At Slade School of Fine Art's MA show this year, I particularly loved Rosie Kennedy and Jesse Rivers' work.

Best Restaurant: Micki Meng took me to the legendary Chez Panisse in Berkeley—it was a real treat. My local pizzeria Theo's in Camberwell always has a nice vibe and delicious pizza.

Best Trip: The opening week of my show at GRIMM Gallery in Amsterdam which was such a sunny, joyful moment of sharing work with so many friends and family. I loved going on the GRIMM family boat, hopping into museums and hanging out in the water-side bars, and swimming in the canal.

Best Christmas: Family and family friends, and returning to Sussex haunts.

Best Quote: 'If I've just started a painting, I will go to the studio early to read and lay out different drawings. I like to avoid interruptions when I'm working, which is why I love painting in the evening and staying late in the studio without distraction.'—Francesca Mollett in the Studio

Andrew Cranston

For a painter who has been working away in his Glasgow studio, it's touching to see Cranston, now in his 50s, receive deserved recognition. In the summer, Edinburgh's Ingleby Gallery hosted to Never a joiner followed by a career-defining institutional show for the artist at The Hepworth Wakefield in Yorkshire (25 November 2023–2 June 2024).

Andrew Cranston Studio.

Best Sounds: Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert (2023); Arooj Aftab's Vulture Prince (2021); Giant Palm (2022) by Naima Bock; and Roger Eno and Brian Eno's Mixing Colours (2020).

Best Exhibitions: Carole Gibbons at Gallery Celine, Glasgow; and Mark Rothko at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris.

Best Restaurant: Le Rubis, Paris; Goat in the Tree, Glasgow; and St JOHN, London.

Best Trip: New York.

Best Christmas: When there are small humans around who believe in Santa Claus.

Best Quote: 'After dropping my son off at school, I go to a cafe close to my studio and do some writing. When I get to my studio, it takes me a while to start painting. I tend to work on smaller paintings first, adding, taking away, and moving things around. I look through books and sketchbooks. It brings to mind when dogs do all that sniffing around, circling their territory. I eventually get going after about an hour.'—Andrew Cranston in the Studio.

Pam Evelyn

In July, Pace Gallery announced the young British painter and Royal College of Art graduate joined the blue-chip gallery. The announcement was swiftly followed by her debut exhibition with the gallery in London, A Handful of Dust, a suite of brave new masterful paintings, revealing a maturity way beyond this exciting young painter's years.

Pam Evelyn, 2021. Courtesy the artist and The Approach. Photo: Michael Brzezinski.

Best Sounds: Barry Manilow performing 'Copacabana' (1985). I'm seeing him live in June—this always takes the edge off. Also, Etta James's 'I'd Rather Go Blind' (1967).

Best Exhibition: Philip Guston at Tate Modern, London (5 October 2023–25 February 2024).

Best Restaurant: My kitchen—I don't eat out often.

Best Trip: I plan to go to Paris soon to see Mark Rothko's retrospective at Foundation Louis Vuitton (18 October 2023–2 April 2024).

Best Christmas: Family and fine wine!

Best Quote: 'There is often a crucial point I get to where I question whether or not to continue, and if I do, will I lose it all? Half of what painting is is resisting the act of painting and living with it. Then sometimes you summon up the courage to dive back into it.'—Pam Evelyn in the Studio.

Main image: Courtesy Ocula. Photo: William Waterworth.