3 Emerging Chicago-Based Artists to Watch in 2025

At Formato Fine Arts, it’s our mission to help you discover and buy work from the best emerging artists that the rest of the art scene has not picked up on yet.

To bring inspiration to your home for years to come, our team has compiled this list of up-and-coming artists to consider collecting now.

Emma Crowley

Emma is a multidisciplinary artist exploring the playful, the surreal, and the unexpected through painting, ceramics, and sculpture. Trained at the School of the Art Insititute of Chicago (SAIC, Class of 2025), her work brings whimsical creatures, vivid narratives, and functional art to life, blending technical expertise with a love for the strange and charming.

With a background in ceramics and sculpture, Crowley’s approach is rooted in craftsmanship and material exploration. Her handcrafted mugs, with quirky little legs and creature-like details, transform everyday objects into small works of art that are often functional, but full of personality.

Selection of paintings and ceramics by Emma Crowley

Her paintings layer bold colors, surreal compositions, animals, and curious characters, inviting viewers into worlds where the familiar takes on a new, dreamlike quality.

Each piece, whether a gremlin sculpture, a sculptural mug, or a narrative-driven painting, is crafted with the goal of sparking joy and curiosity. Inspired by nature, folklore, and the small oddities of daily life, Crowley’s work invites a sense of wonder; encouraging people to bring a little magic into their homes.

Follow Emma on Instagram to stay up to date on her latest works (@emmacrow.art). You can explore and shop a variety of Emma's paintings and ceramic works here.

Mackenna Hanson

MacKenna Hanson is a Chicago-based artist currently on track to receive her Bachelors of Fine Arts in 2025 from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Born in 2003 in Jacksonville, Florida, she's lived in Georgia, North Carolina, and Stockholm, Sweden. Hanson uses her art to delve deep into contradictions of identity, taste, materiality, and culture. She's a triplet sister, a pop culture enthusiast, and a self-described enjoyer of fun.

Hanson was assigned to SAIC's 2023 Dean's List for Outstanding Sophomores and recently admitted into the School's 2024-2025 Advanced Painting Program. As founder of the artist collective Salon des Refusés, she works closely with friend and fellow artist Katharine Oltrogge.

Hanson has won two Honorable Mentions from the Scholastic Art Awards and an Honorable Mention from the United States Congressional Art Competition. She also received sizable merit scholarships from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Maine College of Art, Cornish College of Art, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was granted entry into SAIC's Art Bash of 2022 and had two of her works exhibited in the LeRoy Neiman Center.

Selection of paintings by Mackenna Hanson

In her works, Hanson explores reproduction, originality, and the layered meanings of surface—both literal and symbolic. Through a mix of appropriated and imagined imagery, her paintings and drawings challenge artistic hierarchies and question how value is assigned to visual culture.

Using techniques that embrace imperfection and human touch, the artist reveals the process behind the image, inserting moments of mystery—like stray brushstrokes or fingerprints—that disrupt the polished finality of reproduction. Her paintings merge art history with pop culture, often placing illustrative imagery in the high-art medium of oil paint to examine class, taste, and mimicry.

Hanson pushes against the constraints of the form—discarding traditional panel structures and layout rules to create space for deeper conversations about gender, capitalism, and storytelling. Whether working in paint or ink, they construct a fluid visual language that refuses to stay confined within conventional boundaries.

Find out more about Mackenna Hanson on her website and explore her pieces for sale at Formato Fine Arts here.

Madden Pilkerton aka. Marie Duprez

Madden Marie Pilkerton is a ceramic artist known for her attention to detail and simplicity under her artist name Marie Duprez, her maternal grandmother and namesake. Marie Duprez was born in Egypt after her mother moved there from Perpignan in the south of France. Later on in her life she moved to England where she had my grandmother who moved to the United States in her late teens.

Working primarily in porcelain, Pilkerton explores little moments within nature and life, focusing on family, fragility, and a sense of belonging. She is currently a BFA candidate at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she was awarded the Lester and Marcia Novy Memorial Award in 2024. 

Selection of ceramics by Madden Pilkerton aka. Marie Duprez

Pilkerton creates delicate, emotionally resonant works that reflect on family, nature, and the quiet beauty of everyday life. Working with fragile materials like porcelain, they capture fleeting moments and complex feelings—joy, grief, resilience—with meticulous care and intention.

Her practice is grounded in vulnerability and reflection, offering viewers space to slow down and reconnect with themselves. Each piece carries a sense of movement and tension, despite being crafted from still materials, embodying the emotional labor behind perseverance.

By embracing softness and precision, Pilkerton invites us to see strength in tenderness and to find light even in difficult times. Her work reminds us to pause, feel deeply, and appreciate the subtle magic of being present.

Find out more about Pilkerton on her website and explore her pieces for sale at Formato Fine Arts here.