Art for Spotting the Green Flags
The visual cues, material choices, and exhibition histories I consider when evaluating emerging contemporary art
Good morning and welcome to the second half of 2026! It’s been six months since I shifted my newsletter to a weekly model, offering 10 to 12 contemporary artworks to buy in the $5,000 to $15,000 range. This week is no exception, and today I am attempting to squeeze in 17 artworks!
As my art advisory is based on transparency and education, I want to share a few criteria of what I look for in an artwork or an artist before including them in the newsletter. Rather than simply telling you what I like, I want to show you how I evaluate contemporary art, so that over time, you can begin to identify strong work with more confidence.
Similar to how an investor looks for undervalued assets, I am always on the hunt for contemporary artists with these green flags:
Visual Language: does this art look like nothing else I’ve seen?
Practice: are the concepts and ideas explored unique and fully developed?
Process: how does the artist physically create the artwork?
Material: are the materials intentional, distinctive, and essential to the work?
Exhibitions: in which galleries and shows has the artist been included?
If you are not a paid subscriber, you are missing out on 30+ artwork selections a month that attempt to answer the question “Is this good?” If you are a paid subscriber already, thank you for your support! You are already building the visual fluency to recognize emerging artists before they become widely known.
Enjoy this week’s many selections, and as always, I look forward to reading your replies with your questions and inquiries!
