Togetherness, 2022, by Leilah Babirye, at the PAF?s ?Black Atlantic? exhibition, 2022
As the art world gets moving for Asia’s first major fair of 2023, the new Art SG in Singapore, we asked some movers, shakers and collectors which artists and curators around the world are catching their eye for 2023. Read on for the verdicts from Mickalene Thomas, Steve Lazarides, Phillip Colbert and many others
Mickalene Thomas, artist

Based: New York

Nominates: Leilah Babirye

I first encountered Leilah Babirye?s work in 2019, a year after she received asylum in the US from Uganda, when a friend introduced me to her sculptures. I immediately felt a profound, intense connection to her work. The composition of materials deeply resonated with me, particularly how she juxtaposes found objects with ceramics, metal and wood, and shapes the surfaces and imbues the materials with such a regal, ethereal, spiritual essence. Her sculptures transform seemingly disparate media into a powerful representation of her vision for empowering hybridity, queerness and trans selfhood. She shows with Gordon Robichaux and Stephen Friedman Gallery. stephenfriedman.com/artists/66-leilah-babirye
Steve Lazarides, artist

Based: London

Nominates: Tim & Barry

They are not exactly emerging, but Tim & Barry are definitely change-makers. They documented the birth of grime in an incredibly unexpected way, and it?s not often I say this but their work is exceptional. I love their visuals, and the way they...