From left: Robert Gober's Untitled, 1989-1993; Cindy Sherman's Untitled Film Still, 1978; Jeff Koons's Rabbit, 1986.   (Photo: Geoffrey Clements/Corbis; Courtesy of the Artist and Metro Pictures; © Jeff Koons)

Three Artists Who Survived the Last Bust
Robert Gober
A true art-world intellectual, Gober makes quietly ambitious work that is hardly a quick read, but those who make the effort tend to be convinced.

Cindy Sherman
Her constant playing with identity and popular culture have made her a curatorial and collector favorite.

Jeff Koons
Master of the media game, he’s prized by fans for redefining artistic practice. Plus it’s hard to resist someone so shamelessly over-the-top.

From left: John Baldessari's The Duress Series: Person Holding onto Pole Attached to Exterior of Tall Building, 2003; Takashi Murakami's The Emperor's New Clothes, 2005; Thomas Ruff's Porträt (P. Stadtbäumer), 1990.   (Photo: From left: Courtesy of the Artist and Mai 36 Galerie; © 2005 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., LTD/Courtesy of Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin; Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York)

Three Artists Who Will Survive the Next Bust
John Baldessari
Though the market for him took time to develop, Baldessari’s influence on future artists has steadily swelled to living-god status, cementing his spot in art history.

Takashi Murakami
Beyond perfecting the artist-as-entrepreneur role, Murakami has also served as a one-man bridge between Japanese pop culture and Western contemporary art.

Thomas Ruff
Though his images are often less quickly appreciated than those of his Düsseldorf Akademie rival Andreas Gursky, Ruff has relentlessly pushed the boundaries of photography.

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Articles by Marc Spiegler
• Table of Contents: April 3, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!