Inspiring women artists in love with design

Women’s History Month is a great time to celebrate women’s achievements in art and design. Here’s a list of interdisciplinary artists, past and present, who prove that women’s creativity knows no boundaries.

Women’s History Month: Who are the famous women artists who continue to shape the world of design?

Sophie Taeuber-Arp

Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1899-1943) was a true creative powerhouse who moved with ease across many fields, from dance to furniture design. The Swiss artist started off as a textile designer, studying at various schools of Applied Arts in Switzerland and Germany. She also taught design in Zurich, where she created her first geometric abstractions. Taeuber-Arp’s unique take on colour and form shines through her paintings and interior projects alike.

Maria Prymachenko

Over the past two years, the world has been shaken by Russian aggression against Ukraine. The continuing support for the invaded country has put the spotlight on previously lesser known Ukrainian artists. One of them is Maria Prymachenko (1909-1997), a self-taught painter who also created embroidery and ceramics inspired by local folk crafts. Her vibrant compositions, once admired by Picasso, offer a glimmer of hope in troubled times.

Claude Lalanne

Throughout her decades-long career Claude Lalanne (1925-2019) aimed at erasing the gap between fine art and decoration. The French sculptor and object designer, one half of Les Lalanne studio formed with her husband François-Xavier, created pieces of furniture and jewellery inspired by animals and plants. She firmly believed that art is a part of everyday life, so even the most surreal of her creations still needed to be functional.

Olga de Amaral

Olga de Amaral is a Colombian artist best known for her mosaic-like tapestries. In her practice, she elevates weaving, a stereotypically feminine and often undervalued craft, into an abstract art form that makes a statement about colonialism and pre-Columbian culture in the Americas. Her gold-covered tapestries are hand-woven with a precision that comes from de Amaral’s background in architectural drafting, which she studied before completing her degree in textile art.

Ingrid Donat

Ingrid Donat is a household name in contemporary decorative arts. The French-Swedish artist first studied sculpture in Paris in the 1970s before switching to furniture design in the 1980s. Her unique pieces are mostly one-offs and limited editions made from engraved bronze, wood and leather. She draws inspiration from Art Deco and tribal art, as well as painters such as Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele.

Faye Toogood

Faye Toogood is a British artist and designer who has established an interdisciplinary studio in London. She consistently refuses to be pigeonholed, making sure that all her creative endeavours, from sculptures to fashion and interior design, reflect her multidisciplinary mindset. Most recent works by Toogood include the Doodles collection for CC-Tapis, modelled on her original textile artworks, and the sculptural Roly Poly chair for Driade.

Finally, this list is by no means complete. Women’s History Month encourages us to dive deep into the pool of female creativity and celebrate its hybrid manifestations in many fields.