5 women who revolutionized the art world

International Women's Day is a day dedicated to the struggle for equality, participation and empowerment of women in all areas of society.

Throughout history, many women in different fields have seen how their talent was kept hidden behind the male figure. With the passage of time and the continuous struggle of society, we have seen how many women have fought to give recognition to their work and leave their mark on this world. 

Within the art scene we highlight 5 names that marked a before and after in the art world. 

1. Esther Ferrer

The work of artist Esther Ferrer (San Sebastian, Spain, 1937) moves between action art, collage, photography, drawing and sound work. Her work is inscribed within the minimalist and conceptual currents initiated in the sixties of the twentieth century, as well as in the feminisms of the time and dematerialized art. Ferrer is one of the main representatives and pioneer of performance art in Spain, as well as a committed feminist whose artistic and theoretical production has contributed to give visibility to the problems associated with women. In 1999 she was one of the two artists who represented Spain at the Venice Biennale, in 2008 she was awarded the Premio Nacional de Artes Plásticas, in 2012 the Basque Government's Gure Artea Award, in 2014 the MAV (Women in the Visual Arts) Award, the Marie Claire pour l'Art Contemporaine Award and the Velazquez Award.

2. Elena Asins

Elena Asins (Madrid, Spain, 1940)is considered one of the pioneers of cybernetic art in Spain. She brings togetherthe constructive tradition of the 20th century avant-garde with the computer and information theory of the 1960s, and is considered one of the pioneers of computer-assisted art in Spain. Linked to some of the most innovative projects in the recent history of Spanish art, such as the Cooperativa de Producción Artística y Artesana or the Centro de Cálculo de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Asins has used a wide range of formats and media in her work (from concrete poetry to video, drawing, sculpture or installation), always characterized by compositional rigor and formal purification.

3. Cristina Iglesias

Cristina Iglesias Fernández Berridi (San Sebastián, Spain, 1956) is a sculptor and engraver, winner of the National Prize for Plastic Arts and one of the most international Spanish artists of recent decades.Belonging to a generation of artists that since the 1980s has transformed the concept of sculpture in the field of installations, her works reflect an aesthetic vocabulary based on the use of different materials (concrete, alabaster, resin, iron, glass, sometimes combined with plant motifs such as bamboo and leaves) and different techniques (bas-relief, tapestry or screen printing in large format, on silk and copper), and reveal the artist's interest in space, architecture, literature and geology.

4. Isabel Muñoz 

Isabel Muñoz Vilallonga (Barcelona, Spain, 1951) Spanish photographer based in Madrid. Isabel Muñoz's images solemnize the body. Concerned with forms, with light, Isabel Muñoz shows us the detail in the foreground. Muñoz discovers sensuality and wants us to take a fresh look at the everyday, inviting us to perceive in a perfect way what goes unnoticed. The sixth woman to be elected a Fine Arts academic was a late photographer who today accumulates all the awards: the National Photography Award (2016), two World Press Photo or the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts.

5. Blanca Muñoz

Blanca Muñoz (Madrid, Spain, 1963) Gonzalo is a Spanish artist, engraver and sculptor. She uses mainly steel and perforated sheet metal, both in her monumental works and in small pieces, also incorporating steel wires to her Prints to turn them into sculptures.Blanca Muñoz's sculptural activity has continued in interventions in public spaces, where she has shown that the interaction of materials and a precise coloration, achieve a perfect adaptation of the sculptures to the environment, whether urban or landscape.