Ai Weiwei

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been creating artwork that addresses freedom of speech and human rights for over 40 years. Recently the artist has received widespread press coverage for his ongoing campaign to raise awareness of the Syrian refugee crisis, even setting up a studio on the Greek island of Lesbos to highlight

Olafur Eliasson

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson's large-scale installations that explore light, perception and environmental issues are always firm favourites with Dezeen readers.

Anish Kapoor

Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor made news this year when he acquired exclusive rights to a pigment said to be the blackest shade of black ever created. Dezeen readers were quick to question whether it was right to "take ownership" of a colour and the much-discussed story pushed Kapoor to the top of our

Anish Kapoor finishes ahead of Ai Weiwei in our Artists Hot List

Only five artists made it onto our Artists Hot List and four of them tend to do work on an architectural scale or a design sensibility, which is why we cover them in the first place. Anish Kapoor (number one) built a giant skycraper-sized sculpture that has been

Christo

Dezeen readers were full of praise for Bulgarian artist Christo's saffron-coloured floating pathways completed earlier this year, which connected the shore of Italy's Lake Iseo to islands at its centre.

Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst – whose best-known artworks include pickled animals and jewelled skulls – is the final artist on this year's Hot List, thanks to the completion of his Newport Street Gallery in late 2015.