6 Captivating Twenty-First Century Women Artists Who Inspire and Influence
SLART NOTE: I’m no art critic but I wanted to share my thoughts on 6 female artists with whom I have crossed paths with their work, who inspire me to be a better artist.
After a chat with my wife about how our one-year-old daughter could be the next [Insert top female Olympic swimmer’s name here] we couldn’t think of one. All we could muster was ‘Tom Daley’ or ‘Duncan Goodhew’, the latter revealing our approximate ages! I know this is more about our ignorance of professional swimming, but it happens in the art world all the time, as art history is disproportionately jam-packed with male artists. If you ask someone who knows a little about art to name 5 famous artists, it’ll likely be mostly, if not all, male artists.
Pamela Clark once said:
“Consume cultural products produced by women.
In whatever your interests are—French cinema, astrophysics, baseball, birdwatching—ensure that women's voices and women's cultural products are represented in what you are consuming. If they are not, make an effort to seek them out.”
In art, this comes naturally to me as I admire many female artists’ work, but it got me thinking about other areas. You could do the same…
…In no particular order, on to the amazing artists!
1. Imogen Morris
I came across Imogen’s work at Boomer Gallery in London back in 2021. What we shared in common, was both paying £150 to have a piece of work shown in one medium-sized room of a third-floor building just off Brick Lane. So I connected with her on Insta and it’s been amazing to see her career flourish since. Her art gets bolder, larger and more inventive as time goes on!
Through Imogen, I had the chance to exhibit at a cool microbrewery in Bourneville, a suburb of Birmingham, in October 2022. Serendipitously, my friend and I went into Birmingham City Centre for the day after setting up the exhibit. My friend had recently become an avid art gallery visitor so we popped into Ikon Gallery to explore. We walked up to the first floor and I did a double-take at the gallery assistant, “Imogen?”, “Steve?!” She replies. We were both shocked to see each other in ‘real life’, but we had a lovely chat nonetheless. Since then her art career has gone from strength to strength so check her out, and hire her for a commission! She creates the most beautiful figurative art using thread and pins.
Imogen was once asked what art movement inspired her the most, her reply was:
“Minimalism – I absolutely love it and was heavily influenced by it during my degree. I wouldn’t say it’s obvious in my practice now, but I build up harsh lines in my triangles to create mesh-like forms, and these replicate the strong angular forms of Minimalism.“
Follow Imogen: www.instagram.com/imogenmorrisart
2. Ana Benroya
Ana’s work has been blowing me away since I heard her Talk Art Interview back in July 2020. She has a wonderful figurative style depicting muscular female figures with cartoon and superheroine influences. As many people do, I follow artists that inspire me, and she certainly does that. It’s a real pleasure to see her new artwork pop up in my stories.
Follow Ana: www.instagram.com/anabenaroya
3. Harrie Dearing
Harrie and I have become friends since working on a couple of mural projects together in 2022, we’ve also shared a joint exhibition in 2023.
Harrie is a prolific abstract painter and she has unbridled creativity in terms of the diversity of her creations. She masterminded her own Arts Council-funded project in 2023 using projection mapping technology inside an old swimming pool that was being renovated.
Follow Harrie: www.instagram.com/harriedearingart
4. Lydia Pettit
I also came across Lydia via the Talk Art Podcast and have been following her art career via Instagram since then. She is a phenomenally skilled painter in the traditional sense, creating hyper-realistic works in her own unique style, often using self-portraiture in innovative ways. She had a breathtaking solo exhibit (In Your Anger, I See Fear) at Galerie Judin in Berlin in 2023. I wasn’t there in person, but the photos absolutely blew me away! I can’t wait to see what comes next from Lydia.
‘I see the picture plane as a mirror in which I can frankly regard myself.’
Lydia Pettit
Follow Lydia: www.instagram.com/lydiapettit
5. Elsa Rouy
I discovered Elsa’s work via Guts Gallery in Dalston (a place I am fond of as I used to live up the road in Stamford Hill). Her work stops you in your tracks, I’m sure you’ll agree! She creates fleshy paintings that are in your face, disjointed, shiny and unforgettable. I believe someone once said “Disgusting. And bad art” referring to her work. The person who quoted that must have been triggered by the unusual figures in Rouy’s pieces, they can be seen as gruesome for sure, but it’s certainly not bad art! Besides tastes, receiving such a strong reaction is a great thing in my opinion!
Elsa mentioned the comment in an interview in 2021.
“The quote comes from a comment left underneath one of my paintings on Instagram. I found it really amusing, everyone is entitled to their own opinion so I wasn’t offended. I think I found the bluntness and the fact that my work had the capability of making someone offended comical. As it was about my work, I decided to appropriate her comment and leave it in my bio as if it was a review, a bit like what you find on movie posters but bad. The woman in question actually did quite exciting paintings of horses, it’s a shame she didn’t have the same attraction to my work.”
Follow Elsa: www.instagram.com/elsa.rouy
6. Vicki Da Silva
I discovered Vicki and her work through Brainard Carey’s book recently. She creates the most wonderful photos using light to create lettering, also known as light graffiti! How cool is that?
Her words were of great comfort and inspiration to me, and I could relate to her persistence. She mentioned in the interview that she took a break from art for a while to have children, and things started to take off again when the kids were a little older when Vicki was 53. It is never too late to start an art career, we only think that! Vicki mentioned how she went to the director of the Armory Art Fair to ask to exhibit without a gallery, and she got a space.
Vicki in her own words:
“Yes, that’s exactly how it works. I go to the powers that be, and I ask for permission. I’ve done that in front of the Whitehouse; back in 2008, I was inspired to write, “Obama in the house” in June of 2008 for the Obama campaign—not specifically for them, but in support of the Obama Whitehouse before anything, before he got elected.”
Follow Vicki www.instagram.com/vickidasilva
So that’s it for this post, make sure you check out the fabulous artists’ work.
Here are their links again.
www.instagram.com/imogenmorrisart
www.instagram.com/harriedearingart
www.instagram.com/vickidasilva
Love to you,
As the daughter of painters, I thank you for highlighting the work of women artists! And a lovely window for me into UK. My parents lived and painted in NYC and I write a lot about my mother’s invisibility in the shadow of my well-known father. Maybe someday the story will change. I’m trying to help change that story (and noting the terrible damage it did to my family).