The 25 Most Important Artists of 2012

It's been a great year in art and design.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

2012 was indisputably an excellent year in art and design. Events in pop culture like the Olympics, the Presidential Election, Hurricane Sandy, and more brought many of the artists we've come to admire into the spotlight. This year, we also saw street art become more mainstream, artists continuing to align with brands and musicians, and increasingly controversial exhibitions. While it may be difficult to define what makes an artist "important" in any given year, we would argue that it's a combination of expanding one's work and influence while continuing to add to culture, especially when that reach goes beyond the art world itself.

Check out The 25 Most Important Artists of 2012 to see who killed it this year and who we'll definitely be keeping on our radar in 2013.

RELATED: The 25 Biggest Art Moments of 2012

Todd James

Not Available Interstitial

Ryan Trecartin

Not Available Interstitial

Meggs

Not Available Interstitial

Jill Greenberg

Not Available Interstitial

Invader

Not Available Interstitial

ROA

Not Available Interstitial

Shepard Fairey

Not Available Interstitial

Phlegm

Not Available Interstitial

Anthony Lister

Not Available Interstitial

Richard Phillips

Not Available Interstitial

Gaia

Not Available Interstitial

Ron English

Not Available Interstitial

Takashi Murakami

Not Available Interstitial

Retna

Not Available Interstitial

REVOK

Not Available Interstitial

Rineke Dijkstra

Not Available Interstitial

Terry Richardson

Not Available Interstitial

Patrick Martinez

Not Available Interstitial

Erik Parker

Not Available Interstitial

Futura

Not Available Interstitial

Graffuturism - Poesia, Sheone, Augustine Kofi,TK

Not Available Interstitial

Cindy Sherman

Not Available Interstitial

Zaha Hadid

Not Available Interstitial

KAWS

Not Available Interstitial

Ai Weiwei

Not Available Interstitial

Latest in Style