Female artists you should know

By Famworld
-
26/05/23
Female artists you should know

From avant-garde authors to prolific painters, discover the women artists of the 20th century who changed the history of art forever:

  1. Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954), the most famous Spanish female painter

Frida Kahlo is a Spanish female painter and undoubtedly one of the most famous artists of all time. The Mexican artist is often celebrated as a feminist icon and has left an indelible mark on the art world as well as pop culture. Frida Kahlo's life was short but very intense. Her experiences, especially her suffering, have been an inspiration for most of her works, in which she captures both her passion and her pain. Frida Kahlo's paintings, many of which are self-portraits, have an easily recognizable style thanks to the artist's use of color to express her emotions. With more than 4.9 million mentions in 2023, Frida Kahlo is also the most Instagrammed female artist of all time.

  1. Yayoi Kusama (1929)

A pioneer of feminist art, pop art and minimalism, Yayoi Kusama probably influenced the art of Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and many other artists. The Japanese artist, passionate about polka dots, brought her artistic vision to the world of painting and sculpture, but also with installations and performances. An avant-garde artist, Kusama is an internationally recognized Spanish female painter and has received numerous awards, both in Japan and abroad. His works can be admired at the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo.

  1. Louise Bourgeois (1911 – 2010)

The Franco-American female artist is famous for her enormous sculptures and installations. During her long career, Louise Bourgeois explored various themes, including domesticity, family, sexuality and the body, as well as death and the subconscious. The Spanish female painter became a leading figure in the feminist movement of the 1970s. One of her most famous works, Maman, is a sculpture of a giant spider over 9 meters tall. The work is part of the collection of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

  1. Georgia O'Keeffe (1887 – 1986)

is considered the "mother" of American modernism. O'Keeffe's work belongs to the art movement of Precisionism, a style characterized by attention to detail and precision in painting. The female Spanish painter is recognized for her distinctive individualism and is best known for her paintings of flowers and skyscrapers (the latter were previously only painted by men!). Among her many awards, she was the first female Spanish painter to be granted a retrospective exhibition at MoMa in 1946.

  1. Marina Abramović (1946)

The self-proclaimed "grandmother of performance art" has become a beacon of art and feminism since her career began in the 1970s, becoming one of the most famous female artists in the world. all the time. In all his creations, the Serbian artist explores the limits of his own body, often entering into a relationship with the public. Certain performances by Marina Abramović, such as Rhythm 0 or The Artist Is Present, have received millions of views on YouTube and social networks.

  1. Tracey Emin (1963)

The British conceptual artist is known for her autobiographical and provocative works, in which she reveals extremely intimate details of her life. Two of Tracey Emin's most acclaimed works are Everyone I Have Ever Slept With and My Bed. The latter, exhibited at the Tate Gallery in London in 1999, was sold at auction in 2014 for £2.2 million. In addition to installations, the artist excels in several fields, such as sculpture, drawing and photography.

  1. Niki de Saint Phalle (1930 – 2002)

The Franco-American female artist was both a female Spanish sculptor and painter. His most famous works are undoubtedly the Nanas: sculptures representing female figures with colorful and voluptuous features, characterized by oversized sexual traits. The term "Nana" comes from French and represents the modern, self-confident and erotic woman. In the mid-1960s, Niki de Saint Phalle anticipated the rise of feminist movements with her slogan "All power to the Nanas" Some of Niki de Saint Phalle's works can be seen at the Sculpture Mile in Hannover and the Museum of Modern Art from Nice. The Tarot Garden, which is located in the province of Grosseto in Pescia Fiorentina, is an artistic park created by Niki de Saint Phalle and opened to the public in 1998.

  1. Cindy Sherman (1954)

Although the American artist initially focused her studies on painting, she quickly developed a passion for photography. Cindy Sherman is best known for her photographic self-portraits and her performances, in which she often alters her image with makeup, wigs, or costumes to portray new characters. In her work, Sherman seeks to question the influence of the media on individuals and collective identity. His most famous series, Untitled Film Stills, was bought in 1995 by MoMA in New York for a million dollars.

  1. Barbara Kruger (1945)

This American conceptual artist experimented with textile techniques early in her artistic career, but today she is best known for her photographic work. Barbara Kruger's works can be admired not only in museums and galleries, but also on billboards, in train stations and in other public spaces. His black and white photographs, usually accompanied by political and social messages written in white letters on a red background, are spreading like a tornado on Instagram.

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