Granted, I am writing on a WordPress platform currently, I have been blown away by SquareSpace 6, the new version of a very powerful website creation platform. I am lucky to be one of the chosen few to beta this new platform, and wow, is it cool! Build a custom website in no time, all through drag and drop- no coding, fuss or muss.
If you are an artist looking to show some of your best works and want to avoid the hassle of designing and coding your own (or hiring someone to do it for you), you really should look into Squarespace. It works exceptionally well to show off photos, artwork, and portfolios, and makes it so easy to manage without meticulously cropping each image beforehand.
Squarespace 6 Beta signups from Squarespace.com