by Pop icon Pink has never been one to shy away from bold, boundary-pushing art. Throughout her decades-long career, she has embraced the avant-garde, showcasing edgy aesthetics in her albums, live shows, and music videos. In interviews and on social media, Pink has name-dropped many of her favorite contemporary artists who inspire her rebellious artistry. From cheeky postmodern sculpture to haunting performance art, Pink celebrates the work of visionaries who compellingly capture the complexity of modern life.
Jeff Koons
Perhaps Pink’s most frequently mentioned contemporary art crush is Jeff Koons, the king of kitsch. Koons experienced meteoric success in the 1980s, creating ironic subversions of banal pop culture. Works like Michael Jackson and Bubbles, depicting the singer and his chimp companion rendered in porcelain, play with ideas of fame, fandom, and the superficiality of pop idols.
Koons’ Rabbit, a 3D stainless steel casting of an inflatable bunny, is one of his most iconic works. The once-cheap party decoration becomes imposing at a giant scale. Rabbit exemplifies Koons’ interest in take familiar childhood icons and transforming them into high art objects. Pink posted a photo of herself posing enthusiastically in front of Rabbit at the Guggenheim, calling it “one of her all-time faves.”
Beyond sculpture, Koons’ paints kitschy, photorealistic canvases like Two Ball 50/50 Tank. In interviews, Pink has praised how Koons’ art is “fun and playful” yet makes profound statements on consumerism and class. The mix of silly and serious in Koons’ postmodernism likely resonates with Pink’s playful pop personae laced with social commentary.
Takashi Murakami
Japanese artist Takashi Murakami’s work also provides inspiration for Pink. His Superflat movement developed anime-influenced styles like kawaii cuteness to reflect a flattened post-war Japanese cultural landscape blurred by commercialism and flattened emotional affect. Murakami frequently collaborated with Louis Vuitton, creating handbags covered in his signature flowers.
Pink posted a photo posing with one of Murakami’s 30-foot smiling daisy sculptures at Versailles Palace, calling it “the happiest place on earth!” She also shared images of donning pastel and polka-dotted Murakami-Vuitton bags, likely drawn to the mix of childlike cheer with avant-garde edge. Murakami’s fusion of high and low culture also characterizes Pink’s artsy-yet-accessible visuals.
Yayoi Kusama
Another iconic Japanese artist adored by Pink is Yayoi Kusama. Diagnosed with hallucinations and obsessive thoughts, Kusama began channeling her inner demons into art. She created the Infinity Net paintings, canvases covered in endlessly repetitive patterns that suggest the echoes inside her troubled mind.
Kusama is perhaps most famous for Infinity Mirrored Room installations, an immersive experience placing viewers in a mirrored box with LED lights. These works reflect Kusama’s desire to obliterate her physical being and fuse with the infinite universe. Pink shared photos posing gleefully inside one of Kusama’s mirror rooms, calling it “the most magical art I’ve ever experienced!” Kusama’s pioneering and deeply personal conceptualism likely resonates with Pink’s confessional songwriting.
Marina Abramović
Performance art pioneer Marina Abramović is another contemporary artist beloved by Pink. Abramović rose to prominence in the 1970s with shocking corporeal works like Rhythm 0, where she stood motionless for six hours while audiences were permitted to use objects on her however they wished. Her pieces explore physical and psychological limitations through grueling trials.
Perhaps Abramović’s most famous work is 2010’s The Artist is Present, in which she silently sat across from museum guests for eight hours a day over three months, generating emotional intimacy with strangers through eye contact. Pink praised the work’s “power and bravery,” and posed with Abramović at the MoMA retrospective. Abramović’s fearless exhibition of her body and spirit aligns with Pink’s stripped-down emotional authenticity.
Cindy Sherman
Photographer Cindy Sherman is also frequently referenced by Pink for inspiration. Sherman’s seminal Untitled Film Stills series from the late 1970s depicts her in various female stereotypes from 1950s and 60s pop culture. By embodying these archetypes, Sherman explores notions of femininity as performance.
Pink praised Sherman’s ability to “transform herself into so many characters” and assume different identities. Like Sherman, Pink has built a career out of shape-shifting – one minute a rebellious punk child, the next a glamorous pop diva. Both artists show how adopting fluid personas can reveal deeper truths. The two collaboratively posed as country western stars in a 2014 joint photo shoot.
Beyond her most frequently mentioned inspirations, Pink has shouted out a range of compelling contemporary artists over the years. She has expressed admiration for elusive street artist Banksy, whose satirical and politically-charged public graffiti has captured the cultural zeitgeist. Pink also attended an exhibition by graphic designer and street artist Shepard Fairey, who created the iconic Obama “Hope” poster.
On the more avant-garde end, Pink follows artists like KAWS, known for cartoon-inspired characters like “Companion” exhibiting exposed brains and x-ed out eyes. She posed with his nightmarish 38-foot tall sculpture of a despondent creature at the 2019 Hong Kong Art Basel. Clearly Pink resonates with the feelings of alienation evoked by these unsettling characters.
Pink stays up-to-date on young rising stars in contemporary art as well. She shared enthusiasm online for mixed media artist Miss Van’s doll-like figures in spooky settings. Pink also posted support for fellow musician Lizzo’s entry into the art world, collaborating with artist Sarah Crowner on bold quilted designs.
It’s evident that Pink deeply connects with the work of boundary-pushing contemporary artists who compellingly capture the highs and lows of modern life. She embraces the avant-garde across media like sculpture, painting, photography and performance art. Pink is inspired by their unique visions and channels their spirit of innovation into her own provocative creative projects. Her support gives exposure and validation to important contemporary artists questioning the meaning of art and human experience. For Pink, art goes beyond entertainment – it’s a way to boldly express universal truths about what it means to be human.
