Women Artists Breaking Barriers In The Art World

In the art world, male artists seem to dominate the topic of conversation, but that hasn’t stopped women artists from carving out their own lane.

Contemporary female artists such as Yayoi Kusama, known for her immersive installations, and Kara Walker, who is praised for courageously challenging themes of race and gender, have used their unique talents to push the boundaries.

Through innovative sculptors, painters, photographers, mixed media artists, and conceptual artists, women are shaping how we see and digest art. According to Tate, approximately 51% of visual artists are women, and on top of that, a significant number of galleries represent more male artists than women artists. Although still largely underrepresented, female artists continue to break barriers, providing a few glimmers of hope for a more diverse art world.

Here are five women in the art world you need to know.

Amy Sherald is an American painter who has continued to have many career-defining moments. She is the first woman and the first Black woman to ever receive the grand prize in the 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, and was chosen by former First Lady Michelle Obama to commission a portrait of her.

In what is now considered probably one of her most famous works today, Michelle sits with her hair flowing in a long dress against a light blue backdrop. In an article in Harper’s Bazaar, Kaitlyn Greenidge wrote how she appreciated how Amy’s work “defies all the doom and gloom.”

“And most remarkable of all, she has managed to permeate the culture not with images of violence or the grotesque but of leisure, of rest, of peace,” she wrote.

Kara Walker is a powerful and provocative artist whose work explores controversial themes such as race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity.

While she is known for her exemplary silhouettes, she has worked with various other mediums including painting, collage, film, drawing, sculpture, and performance. According to The Grio, Kara is one of the most important artists of the modern era. Her brutally honest depiction of antebellum life has led her to be praised as a fixture in the art world since the 90s.

A few of her most notable works include “A Darkeytown Rebellion,” “A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby,” and “Fons Americanus.” In 1997, she was honored with the MacArthur Fellowship, making her one of the youngest recipients to receive the coveted award. You can view her work today in some of the world’s most iconic museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and the Guggenheim.

According to GQ Magazine, 28-year-old Anna Weyant has quickly shot to the top of the art world. The Canadian native relocated to New York after earning her BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. She then furthered her knowledge by studying painting at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou.

Anna’s artistic style features dark and moody scenes of women with sensuous figures. She is known for her muted palettes of dusty pinks and greens. Her works can be reminiscent of the “Dutch Golden Age” with a modern twist inspired by popular culture and social media. More recently, Tiffany & Co. held a dinner in honor of Anna’s HardWear collection campaign in collaboration with the brand.

The artist has been represented by the Gagosian Gallery since 2022 and has continued to make waves. In 2024, Weyant painted model Kaia Gerber for the cover of Vogue Magazine.

South Korean artist Moka Lee has gone viral by turning strangers’ Instagram posts into portraits. For Moka, they are the ultimate inspiration, earning her hundreds of thousands of dollars. The artist and her work have been featured in publications such as W Korea and CNN.

Moka’s art showcases human interaction in a way that works for her. Her process involves DM’ing her subjects, asking them to paint their portrait, and she will pay them.

“It may be a bit dark in some ways, but I think it is a very interesting method for me because I can observe so many people sharing themselves,” she told CNN. “People use the very few pictures that they have on Instagram to express themselves.”

The artist’s work has been well-received and has achieved many accomplishments since her descent into the art world. She has exhibited her work at huge shows such as Art Basel Hong Kong in 2023. In 2024, her painting “I’m Not Like Me” sold for $200,000 at a Hong Kong auction, and she was also recognized in Artsy’s Vanguard List for 2025. The list features 10 rising contemporary artists. Her specialty combines using oil paints with Asian techniques.

No stranger to breaking barriers in the art world, Nigerian-American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola has a unique style. In 2022, the artist was commissioned to paint a portrait of Tennis legend Serena Williams, and also had her work featured on Fox’s “Empire.”

Toyin has a peculiar way of mark-making using ballpoint pens, pencils, charcoal, and pastels to build up layers of blending and shading. Throughout the course of her career, she has had the honor of receiving many prestigious including the Murphy and Cadogan Fellowship Award and the Great Immigrants Award. Her work explores Blackness and identity, popular culture, and her personal history.