Women Groundbreakers

When someone mentions that Kevlar was invented by Stephanie Kwolek, people are often surprised and amused that such a “manly” invention was in fact created by a woman. Or that CCTV originates from an idea of Marie Van Brittan Brown, that the Earth’s solid core was discovered by Inge Lehmann, and that the original abstract painter was Hilma Af Klint. All of this makes people go “wow!”… Yet, when you mention a man discovering or creating something, it is taken as a given, as expected. There is a difference in the way we see women groundbreakers as opposed to men groundbreakers. 

This series of paintings explores this dichotomy of perceptions between feminine and masculine breakthroughs whilst going on a journey to discover women’s achievements through various fields in the arts and sciences. The collection comprises 33 women groundbreakers who created, invented or discovered things that changed our lives, each painted in oil on silk stretched over a shaped frame. The choice of frames pays tribute to non-conformity, to the desire to see something extraordinary and explore off-the-beaten paths. The portraits don’t just hang there plainly and complacently; rather they penetrate through space, drawing you in through the lines of the canvases, the imperfect angles directing the eye from one part to another.

The collection was unveiled at a special event at Area 1070 Gallery in Vienna on 8th March 2023, to mark International Women’s Day with a series of mini-talks and performances exploring the lives and works of these groundbreaking women.