5 Instagram accounts every art-lover should follow

Yes, Instagram is home to a nauseating number of selfies, and is huge source of time suckage in general. But when it comes to the art world, it has been a complete industry game-changer. For starters, everyone is on Instagram, from Klaus Biesenbach, Chief Curator at New York's Museum of Modern Art, to the Louvre to Jeff Koons and our own homegrown art-star (a.k.a the lead in the infamous pubic hair controversy), Petra Collins.

Now, anyone can click, and not only discover but even potentially connect with, amazing artists and art-insiders from across the globe without ever having to buzz to get into another stuffy gallery again. Instagram has lifted the veil on a notoriously highfalutin world, allowing everyone to participate in the dialogue.

Here is our round-up of five accounts that will keep you inspired and in-the-know.  

The critic:
1. Jerry Saltz
Handle: @jerrysaltz (over 3,000 posts, 192k followers)

Jerry Saltz, senior art critic at New York Magazine, is hands down one of the most respected art critics in the biz. While most of us don't have the wherewithal to hob-knob with this art fixture at an opening, we can follow him on Insta and get the "kinda friends" illusion as he  treats us to photos ranging from kooky ancient artifacts (think 18thC Russian bear hunting armour) to modern pieces like Julian Schnabel's "Big Girl" portraits. One day it's an art history lesson, the next it's an insider's peek into a hot new exhibit. All with witty quips reflecting his current mood and (anti-Trump) politics.

The curators:
2. Joe Kennedy and Jonny Burt
Handle: @theunitLondon (nearly 1,200 posts, 71.8k followers)

Kennedy and Burt are artists-turned-gallery owners who run a 4,000 square foot gallery space in Soho, London often filled with works discovered on Instagram. They're the voice of the new school, having used the app to not only discover fresh new talent, but reach a large international fan and collector base. Their main mission? Scrap the traditional art world model in favour of a new one based on one criteria: talent, and talent alone (no fine art degree, connections to collectors, etc. needed). Follow them and you'll discover emerging artists who may have little art world cachet (for now), but make up for it with mad skill. FYI: The boys at Unit London tipped us off to @avant.arte (over 1,000 posts, 379k followers). They're hosting a collaborative show with them at their gallery in January showcasing works featured on both of their Insta accounts. In the words of Kennedy: "@avant.arte documents cutting edge contemporary art from across the world."

The artistic fashion fiend:
3. Jordan Watson
Handle: @love.watts (over 10,500 posts, 1.1 million followers)

Jordan "Watts" Watson recently told W Magazine that his account is a "vast mixture of art in all forms; contemporary, low brow, modern, sculpture, photography, digital, performance, and a picture of myself every 100-300 posts." He has been hailed Instagram's premier art curator, posting images of works by artists he admires. What's really cool is he sifts through tons of daily submissions from both established and unknown artists from around the globe. His final selections hit the jackpot, getting a major marketing boost due to his massive following.

The artists:
4. Geoffrey Farmer
Handle: @anhourbeforesleep (over 800 posts, 10.6K followers)

We checked-in with managing editor at Canadian Art, Rosie Prata, to get her take: "My favourite Instagram account on the entire platform is @anhourbeforesleep, which is run by Geoffrey Farmer, a Vancouver-based artist who is representing Canada at the next Venice Biennale," she told us. "He posts short archival video clips from various sources—bizarre foreign movies, after-school specials from the 1970s, strange cartoons—and his captions are usually really funny, too." It's basically a great way to get a feel for the types of things that inspire him. After all he uses popular culture as a jumping off point to create his mix of sculpture, collage, video, film, performance art and text.

The boundary pusher:
5. Petra Collins
Handle: @petrafcollins (1,482 posts, 405k followers)

Canuck art star Petra Collins has many in-the-works titles: photographer, founder of all-female art collective, The Ardorous (which uses art to challenge stereotypical notions of femininity), Gucci model, director (she shot a video for Carly Rae Jepsen and was commissioned to do a short film for the Tate Modern). Photographer Ryan McGinley told the New Yorker: "She's kind of Warholian: somebody who curates and is also an artist and a model." Expect to find posts ranging from her recent modelling spreads to her personal photography featuring her inner circle of cool kid influencers.