6 (More!) Modern Asian Women Artists You Should Know
Some would say that the latter half of the 20th century constitutes Postwar Art and that this should be renamed a list of postwar artists, but that begs the question: after which war? Conflicts, tensions, and change transcended the watershed year of 1945, pushed and pulled to and from either side and across continents. Modernism continued to evolve in this way, as increasing levels of abstraction from the Impressionists and Cubists made way for the Abstract Expressionists and Minimalists, all of them inflecting differently in the hands of artists across the globe.
Here are 6 Asian women artists who seized the Abstract impulse and made it their own:
1. Anita Magsaysay-Ho (1895-1977)
Anita Magsaysay Ho, Kulay Diwa Gallery
Known for: social-realist and post-Cubist paintings of Filipina women, and being one of the ’13 Moderns’ in Filipino modern art
Fun fact: She and her family lived in Manila, Brazil, HK, NY, DC, and Japan (to name a few) and she died a Canadian citizen in Manila
2. Toko Shinoda 篠田 桃紅 (1913-2021)
Known for: abstract calligraphy-inspired ink paintings
Fun fact: Shinoda became an international star after a 2-year stint in NY with the support of art dealer Betty Parsons, who specialised in representing leading abstract expressionists like Jackson Pollock.
3. Park Re Hyun 박래현/朴崍賢 (1920–1976)
Self-Portrait (1940s), sold by Sotheby’s
Known for: an evolving style that challenged social restrictions and boundaries of ink wash painting, printmaking, and textile art
About this work: The collage-like blocks containing eclectic motifs transform into a modular timeline of human history.
4. Kim Lim (1936-1997)
Kim Lim with ‘Chess Piece I’, c. 1960 © Estate of Kim Lim
Known for: abstract organic sculptures and prints
Fun fact: Moving to London from Singapore at just 17, she rejected the ‘outsider’ label and once declined an invitation in 1989 to join the Hayward Gallery’s landmark exhibition titled ‘The Other Story’.
5. Bernice Bing (1936-1998)
Burney Falls (1980) © Sangsook Lee, Estate of Bernice Bing
Unknown photographer, 1965 © Estate of Bernice Bing
Known for: bringing Beat culture and Zen Buddhism into American abstract expressionism
Fun fact: Bay-Area born and raised, she was also known as ‘Bingo’ and once organised an art workshop for the Baby Wah Chings, a Chinatown gang.
6. Nasreen Mohamedi (1937—1990)
Untitled (n.d.), Tate Liverpool
© Photo: Richard Bartholemew
Known for: abstract works based primarily on lines
What to look for: a sense of rhythm created by the lines, space between the lines, and the black/white blocks
Fun fact: trained in London, she is also often associated with American minimalism.