For American artists, there's nothing like being picked for the Whitney Biennial as a way to raise their profiles and, in the best-case scenario, their prices. The controversial exhibit, a survey of U.S. contemporary art, opens this month with 81 entrants ranging from John Baldessari, an art world elder whose paintings have fetched as much as $4 million at auction, to trendy video artist Mika Rottenberg, whose works start at $2,000. Prices are most likely to jump for first-timers.

But which artists are the most interesting to watch? One indication is who gets prime placement on walls facing elevators or in large, open spaces. Based on interviews with museum directors, art advisers, and dealers, here's a look at seven of the show's most talked-about artists, along with estimates of what their work currently fetches.