Which Artists Made the TIME100 List in 2023?
Three visual artists ranked among the world's most influential people this year, along with football great Lionel Messi, Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki, and manic-pixie-nightmare actress Aubrey Plaza.
Wolfgang Tillmans, Lacanau (self) (1986). Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London.
Time Magazine revealed its list of the 100 most influential people on the planet today.
Three visual artists made the list: El Anatsui, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Simone Leigh.
In her text for the magazine, tennis great Venus Williams—whose body was mercilessly scrutinised during her career—praised Leigh for 'centering the experiences of Black individuals and celebrating Black bodies, specifically female bodies, for their beauty, strength, and pride.'
Leigh won the Golden Lion for best contribution to the 2022 Venice Biennale's international exhibition, The Milk of Dreams.
Playwright Jeremy O. Harris said photographer Wolfgang Tillmans has a 'unique ability to take his viewer through histories and timelines both real and imagined'.
He noted Tillman's influence on popular culture through photographs of figures like Frank Ocean, which include the cover for Ocean's album, Blonde (2016).
The retrospective Wolfgang Tillmans: to look without fear launched at MoMA last year. It reopened at the Art Gallery of Ontario on 7 April, where it continues through 1 October, before showing at San Francisco's SFMOMA from 18 November.
Artist and critic Chika Okeke-Agulu described El Anatsui as 'one of the most impactful artists of our time', praising his assemblages of unassuming materials as 'completely new sculptural forms'.
He also noted Anatsui's 'remarkable propensity to support not just other artists but also individuals, families, and institutions in his community in Nsukka and across Nigeria.'
El Anatsui has been commissioned to create work for Tate Modern's Turbine Hall this year.
The full TIME100 list is divided into six categories:
— Artists (e.g. Michael B. Jordan and Ali Wong),
— Icons (e.g. Jennifer Coolidge and Pedro Pascal),
— Pioneers (e.g. Doja Cat and MrBeast),
— Leaders (e.g. Samuel Alito and Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska),
— Titans (e.g. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and Angela Basset), and
— Innovators (e.g. Nathan Fielder and Disney CEO Bob Iger).
All 100 people who made the list can be found on Time's website here.
