Women in Art

A trio of high profile females behind key museums, galleries and platforms.

The contribution of women to the art world as artists, collectors, patrons and muses throughout is vast, but they are still poorly represented in some galleries, exhibitions, institutions and history books. 

The needle seems tricky to budge. A study from Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, showed that works by women make up just 7 per cent of art in the UK's top galleries; while, according to Artsy, of the top 500 most expensive artworks sold from 2012 to 2022, just seven were by women artists.

There is a positive trend though. When focusing on younger generations of artists, with Gen Z artists, for example, women’s works account for 51 per cent of inquiries on Artsy.

We speak to three women running a museum, a gallery and an online art platform. 

Mireia Massagué, director, Chillida Leku Museum, San Sebastián 

As the former managing director of the Gaudi Exhibition Centre in Barcelona, and, since 2019, the director of Chillida Leku, Massagué is an expert on Spanish art and culture. In the art world, however, she believes it is still unusual to see women occupying top positions in the most prominent institutions.

“It remains rare to find women leading museums with the largest budgets or highest visibility, such as El Prado or Museo Reina Sofia. Representation matters not just for the current generation but for future generations of women who aspire to make their mark in the art world and beyond. Increasing the number of women in high-profile positions is a crucial step toward achieving this.”

The Chillida Leku is an institution dedicated to the monumental Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida, which comprises a sculpture park and an exhibition space inside a converted Basque country house dating from the 16th century.

Founded by Chillida in 2000 before his death in 2002, it is home to the most comprehensive body of works by the artist. The museum had to close in 2010 in the wake of the financial crisis and only re-opened in 2019, with Massagué at its helm and with financial support from Hauser & Wirth. 

To mark the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth this year, Massagué has pioneered a solo exhibition of over 60 works spanning half a century from 1949 to 2000, at Hauser & Wirth’s Menorca gallery.  For Massagué, the crucial thing is to bring fresh audiences to the world of Chillida.

She believes the energy of the museum lends itself to contemplation and renewal. She has implemented a wellbeing programme with yoga and meditation, forest bathing and workshops that combine art and nature. It’s a way of reaching new audiences. “The word museum still has a lot of stigma; people think of it as old, boring, stuffy, just for people who love books and history,” she says. 

“But we show them a museum is about you, the current moment and your questions and challenges. Even if you want to just take pictures and put it on TikTok, there is no right or wrong way to experience art.” 

The current exhibition at Chillida Leku, titled: 100 years of Eduardo Chillida with the Telefónica Collection, is showing until 13th October 2024. 

Isabelle de La Bruyère, CEO, Opera Gallery Group, London 


A two-decade veteran of Christie’s auction house, Isabelle de Bruyere started as the Opera Gallery Group’s first-ever chief executive in September 2023, a role that had been handled by founder Gilles Dyan for the past three decades. 

One of the first things on de La Bruyère’s to-do list was open the new London gallery in November, a light-filled 5,000-square-foot space over three floors in New Bond Street, Mayfair, complete with a sculpture garden and café.

With 16 global locations and around 80 staff, growth is on the agenda for the gallery, with a focus on the research and curatorial teams, says de La Bruyère. 

First launched in Singapore in 1994, Opera Gallery is known for specialising in resale art on the secondary market, having sold historically significant works, including Marc Chagall, Picasso and Alexander Calder. 

One of de La Bruyère’s goals now is to ramp up the representation of primary artists. It currently has around 20 on its books. Another aim is to make the gallery more accessible. “We want curious people to come in, we want dialogue,” she says, adding that the gallery offers art at every budget. 

“People sometimes say our gallery has a retail approach, but it is really about allowing people to come and discover,” adds de La Bruyère. “Art can be intimidating when you don’t feel part of the art world. Our job is about breaking down those barriers.” 

Dustyn Kim, president, Artsy.net, New York 


Dustyn Kim (c) Artsy

Earlier this year, Dustyn Kim became the first female president at Artsy, the world’s largest online art marketplace, which launched a decade ago. Since she joined the company in 2017 coming from a tech background, Kim has helped to grow a client base of 4,000 galleries, fairs, auction houses and art institutions and 3.2 million users. 

Kim’s mother was an artist and worked in the art world, which also significantly influenced her. “Her passion for creativity deeply influenced me from a young age and fostered a lifelong appreciation for the arts. I saw first-hand how challenging the traditional art world can be for artists. That personal connection played a significant role in leading me to Artsy,” she says.

Kim believes it is crucial for women to grow their presence both in the art and tech world, which have both traditionally been male-led. “With more diverse voices making the decisions, we can expand the visibility and opportunities for women and other underrepresented groups.”

A raison d’être for Artsy is to increase transparency in the art world, she says. “The opacity of this industry is one of the main reasons why potential buyers are hesitant to participate in the art market.” 

Artsy prides itself on sharing key statistics, like the fact that works with visible pricing are six times more likely to sell on Artsy than those without; or that over 70 per cent of younger, next-generation collectors cite the lack of visible pricing as a barrier to buying art online, according to the Artsy Collector Insights Report, 2021. 

The Artsy price database aggregates auction results from major auction houses across the world and is available for free. “All of this information and data transparency helps collectors make more confident purchase decisions,” Kim says, adding that there are hundreds of thousands of for-sale artworks with visible pricing available on Artsy today, representing nearly 70 per cent of all works for sale.