Who is the most famous Neo-expressionist kunstner?

Jean Michel Basquiat (#1) is first in this ranking, followed by Anselm Kiefer (#2) and Cy Twombly (#3).

Who are the 5 most famous Neo-expressionist kunstnere?

Jean Michel Basquiat (#1), Anselm Kiefer (#2), Cy Twombly (#3), Julian Schnabel (#4) og Georg Baselitz (#5).

Who was the first Neo-expressionist kunstner?

The earliest-born kunstner in this list is Philip Guston (#6), born in 1913.

Which women Neo-expressionist kunstnere are the most famous?

1 women are in this ranking: Jennifer Bartlett (#13).

When were most Neo-expressionist kunstnere born?

Most kunstnere in this list were born in the 1940s (3 of 13), between 1913 and 1968 overall.

Who are the most famous living Neo-expressionist kunstnere?

The highest-ranked living kunstnere in this list are Anselm Kiefer (#2), Julian Schnabel (#4), Chris Ofili (#7), Richard John Spare (#8) og Rainer Fetting (#9).

What techniques did Neo-expressionist kunstnere use?

“Kiefers teknik er kendetegnet ved en intens, tyk impasto-lagdeling.” — from our biography of Anselm Kiefer (#2).

Where are the great works of Neo-expressionist art today?

The museums holding the most key works of this list are Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (2), Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2) og Tate Britain (1).

Which country produced the most Neo-expressionist kunstnere?

USA: 4 of the 13 kunstnere in this list were born there, then Tyskland (3) og United Kingdom (2).

Can I order a painting by a famous Neo-expressionist kunstner?

Our catalogue holds 545 works by these kunstnere.

New to Neo-expressionist? Start here

13 Famous Neo-expressionist Kunstnere You Should Know

If you remember one Neo-expressionist kunstner, make it Jean Michel Basquiat (1960–1988), the name behind Ukendt (ernok) og Untitled - Kranie, (Broad Collection, LA). After that come Anselm Kiefer, Cy Twombly, Julian Schnabel og Georg Baselitz. Our 13 picks go from Philip Guston (born 1913) to Chris Ofili (born 1968), from 4 countries.

Picked by the ArtsDot.com team29 oktober 2026

How we picked them. We list the artists our catalogue links to Neo-expressionist, from the most famous down. Artists born after 1955 that we cannot yet check on Wikidata are left out. The Wikipedia number shows in how many of our 32 languages Wikipedia writes about them.

1Jean Michel Basquiat
2Anselm Kiefer
3Cy Twombly

Quick facts

Neo-expressionist in a nutshell

13Kunstnere
1913–1968Fødselsår
4Fødselslande
1Kvinder
5Nulevende kunstnere
545Værker i vores katalog

Byer med flest fødsler: Park Slope (1), Donaueschingen (1), Lexington (1), Brooklyn (1)
Museer med flest nøgleværker: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (2), Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2), Tate Britain (1), Kunsthaus Zürich (1)
Kvinderne på denne liste: Jennifer Bartlett

Meet them one by one

The 13 famous Neo-expressionist kunstnere, from most famous down

1of 13

Jean Michel Basquiat 1960–1988

Amerikansk From Park Slope Neo-ekspressionisme On Wikipedia in 29 of 32 languages

Han blev født den 22. december 1960 i Brooklyn, New York, til en haitansk far og en puertoricansk mor, og hans barndom var et levende tæppe vævet af forskellige kulturer og sprog – spansk, engelsk og fransk fyldte hjemmet. Denne flersprogede baggrund, kombineret med sin mors dedikation til kunst – hun tilmeldte ham som Junior Member i Brooklyn Museum i seksårsalderen – lagde et tidligt fundament for hans kreative rejse.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

2of 13

Anselm Kiefer født 1945

Tysk From Donaueschingen Neo-ekspressionisme On Wikipedia in 23 of 32 languages

Anselm Kiefer står som en af de mest dybsindige og særprægede stemmer inden for neo-ekspressionismen, en kunstnerisk bevægelse, der opstod i slutningen af 1970'erne og begyndelsen af 1980'erne som en kraftfuld reaktion mod minimalismens og konceptkunstens nøgternhed. Født i Donaueschingen, Tyskland, i 1945, er Kiefers selve eksistens uadskillelig forbundet med eftervirkningerne af Anden Verdenskrig.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

3of 13

Cy Twombly 1928–2011

Amerikansk From Lexington Abstrakt ekspressionisme On Wikipedia in 21 of 32 languages

Tidlig undervisning under Pierre Daura på Washington and Lee University fulgte op af formative oplevelser på Arts Students League i New York og Black Mountain College, hvor han mødte centrale figurer som Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage og Merce Cunningham. Men en rejse i 1952 til Italien og Nordafrika med Rauschenberg – finansieret af en donation fra Virginia Museum of Fine Arts – viste sig at være en sand transformation.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

4of 13

Julian Schnabel født 1951

Amerikaner From Brooklyn Neo-expressionisme

Julian Schnabel blev født i Brooklyn, New York, den 26. oktober 1951 og udgjorde en markant figur inden for amerikansk kunst i slutningen af 1970’erne og fremadrettet. Hans barndom tog en uventet drejning, da hans familie flyttede til Brownsville, Texas, i 1965 – en formative oplevelse der indså i ham en følelse af udlænding og fascination for rå, ukontrollerede miljøer.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

5of 13

Georg Baselitz 1938–2026

Tysk From Deutschbaselitz Neo-ekspressionisme On Wikipedia in 26 of 32 languages

Født som Hans-Georg Bruno Kern den 23. januar 1938 i den lille tyske landsby Deutschbaselitz, var kunstneren, der skulle blive kendt for hele verden som Georg Baselitz, et barn af dybe omvæltninger og transformationer. Da han voksede op i Oberlausitz-regionen midt i de bogstavelige og metaforiske ruiner fra Anden Verdenskrig, var hans tidlige bevidsthed uløseligt forbundet med temaer som ødelæggelse, fordrivelse og den fragmenterede orden i et knust samfund.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

6of 13

Philip Guston 1913–1980

Canadisk-Amerikansk From Montreal ['Abstrakt ekspressionisme', 'Neo-ekspressionisme'] On Wikipedia in 15 of 32 languages

Philip Guston, født Phillip Goldstein i Montreal i 1913, var en kunstner hvis liv og virke spændte over fire årtier og markerede et af de mest fascinerende skift i amerikansk kunsthistorie. Hans rejse fra tidlige figurative studier til den ekspressive abstraktion og senere tilbage til en rå, satirisk figurativ stil, gjorde ham til en central skikkelse i New York School og en pioner inden for neo-expressionismen.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

7of 13

Chris Ofili født 1968

British From Manchester Punk art On Wikipedia in 10 of 32 languages

Born in Manchester, United Kingdom, Chris Ofili emerged as a transformative force within the contemporary art landscape, weaving together disparate threads of culture, religion, and materiality. The artist's early development was shaped by his education at the Chelsea School of Art and the Royal College of Art, periods during which he began to refine a technique characterized by intense layering and textural complexity.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

8of 13

Richard John Spare født 1951

From London

He pursued formal training at Maidstone College of Art from 1971 to 1974, studying painting under the guidance of Fred Cuming. This foundational education instilled in him a strong technical base and an appreciation for artistic expression.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

9of 13

Rainer Fetting født 1949

Tysk From Wilhelmshaven Neo-ekspressionisme On Wikipedia in 6 of 32 languages

Da han flyttede til Berlin i begyndelsen af 1970'erne, blev Fetting indskrevet på Hochschule der Künste (Akademiet for De Skønne Kunster), hvor han studerede under professor Hans Jaenisch. I 1977 var Fetting med til at grundlægge Galerie am Moritzplatz sammen med Helmut Middendorf, Bernd Zimmer, Salomé, Anne Jud og Berthold Schepers.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

10of 13

Richard Spare

British Printmaking, Oil painting

Richard John Spare, born in Chelmsford in 1951, embarked on a journey that would establish him as a pivotal figure in British printmaking and a celebrated artist in his own right. Following college, Spare's apprenticeship with Thomas Ross & Son proved invaluable.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

11of 13

Anthony Sims

American Neo-expressionism, Glitch art

Anthony Sims, born in Southaven, Mississippi in 1998, is a contemporary artist whose work embodies a fascinating tension—a collision between raw emotional expression and meticulous technical skill. His early work demonstrated a “raw and primitive” quality, as noted by the Pinch Journal in 2018, but this rawness was always tempered by a clear sense of control and composition.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

12of 13

Thiago Boecan

Brazilian ['Neo-Figurative Art', 'Abstract Art']

Thiago Morales Boemeke, known as Thiago Boecan, is a rising figure in the Brazilian contemporary art scene, captivating audiences with his exploration of emptiness and the human form. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1995, Boecan’s artistic journey began with a formal education at Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado, followed by a degree in Graphic Design from Centro Universitário Belas Artes de São Paulo.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

13of 13

Jennifer Bartlett 1941–2022

American From Long Beach Conceptual Art & Neo-Expressionism On Wikipedia in 4 of 32 languages

Born Jennifer Losch in 1941 in the coastal environs of Long Beach, California, her early life was steeped in a unique duality of influences. Bartlett’s intellectual journey took her from the experimental atmosphere of Mills College in Oakland to the rigorous halls of the Yale School of Art and Architecture.

Works to know · Their 100 best-known works

Pictures worth knowing

Famous Neo-expressionist works to recognise

Ukendt (ernok)

Jean Michel Basquiat
Böhmen liegt am Meer (Bohemia Lies by the Sea)

Anselm Kiefer

1996
Proteus

Cy Twombly

1984
Ornamental Despair

Julian Schnabel
Der hirte

Georg Baselitz
To Fellini

Philip Guston

1958
The Holy Virgin Mary

Chris Ofili

1996 · MoMA - Museum of Modern Art, New York City
Puffin Pair

Richard John Spare

2010

When it happened

Neo-expressionist, step by step

Fun figures

The numbers behind the list

Fødselsland
USA	4
Tyskland	3
United Kingdom	2
Canada	1

Fødselsårgang
1910s	1
1920s	1
1930s	1
1940s	3
1950s	2
1960s	2

Museer der besidder deres hovedværker
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum	2
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao	2
Tate Britain	1
Kunsthaus Zürich	1
Smithsonian American Art Museum	1
Tate Modern	1
MoMA - Museum of Modern Art	1
Dortmunder U	1

Just the names

List of 13 famous Neo-expressionist kunstnere to know

1Jean Michel BasquiatAmerikansk · 1960–1988
2Anselm KieferTysk · født 1945
3Cy TwomblyAmerikansk · 1928–2011
4Julian SchnabelAmerikaner · født 1951
5Georg BaselitzTysk · 1938–2026
6Philip GustonCanadisk-Amerikansk · 1913–1980
7Chris OfiliBritish · født 1968
8Richard John Sparefødt 1951
9Rainer FettingTysk · født 1949
10Richard SpareBritish ·
11Anthony SimsAmerican ·
12Thiago BoecanBrazilian ·
13Jennifer BartlettAmerican · 1941–2022

Good questions

What people ask about Neo-expressionist

Who is the most famous Neo-expressionist kunstner?
Jean Michel Basquiat (#1) is first in this ranking, followed by Anselm Kiefer (#2) and Cy Twombly (#3).
Who are the 5 most famous Neo-expressionist kunstnere?
Jean Michel Basquiat (#1), Anselm Kiefer (#2), Cy Twombly (#3), Julian Schnabel (#4) og Georg Baselitz (#5).
Who was the first Neo-expressionist kunstner?
The earliest-born kunstner in this list is Philip Guston (#6), born in 1913.
Which women Neo-expressionist kunstnere are the most famous?
1 women are in this ranking: Jennifer Bartlett (#13).
When were most Neo-expressionist kunstnere born?
Most kunstnere in this list were born in the 1940s (3 of 13), between 1913 and 1968 overall.
Who are the most famous living Neo-expressionist kunstnere?
The highest-ranked living kunstnere in this list are Anselm Kiefer (#2), Julian Schnabel (#4), Chris Ofili (#7), Richard John Spare (#8) og Rainer Fetting (#9).
What techniques did Neo-expressionist kunstnere use?
“Kiefers teknik er kendetegnet ved en intens, tyk impasto-lagdeling.” — from our biography of Anselm Kiefer (#2).
Where are the great works of Neo-expressionist art today?
The museums holding the most key works of this list are Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (2), Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2) og Tate Britain (1).
Which country produced the most Neo-expressionist kunstnere?
USA: 4 of the 13 kunstnere in this list were born there, then Tyskland (3) og United Kingdom (2).
Can I order a painting by a famous Neo-expressionist kunstner?
Our catalogue holds 545 works by these kunstnere.