Honoring the Lineage of Expression from Lee Krasner to Today

Throughout history, women artists have carved out bold spaces for themselves—often in the margins, sometimes in defiance, always in truth. Their creative voices echo across generations, weaving a powerful narrative of resilience, reinvention, and reclamation. At the Women’s Artists Collective, we see our work not only as contemporary expression but as part of a much larger, ongoing dialogue between artists across time.

In this post, we reflect on one of the 20th century’s groundbreaking women in abstract art—Lee Krasner—and explore how her legacy resonates in the vibrant, exploratory work of our own collective today.

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Then: Lee Krasner (1908–1984)

A fierce innovator and an often under-recognized giant of Abstract Expressionism, Lee Krasner created a body of work that was deeply emotive, formally daring, and profoundly personal.

Krasner worked alongside—and sometimes in the shadow of—her husband, Jackson Pollock. Yet her own work stood distinct: collage-like canvases filled with frenetic energy, strong gestures, and a fearless commitment to reinvention. Her 1955 piece The Seasons, a large-scale riot of color and movement, reveals an artist in full command of form and freedom.

“I am not to be trusted around paintings. I cannot resist pulling them apart to see what’s underneath.” – Lee Krasner

She was known to destroy earlier works to create something new—an act of both critique and rebirth. Krasner refused to stay static, continuously evolving, experimenting, and questioning her own process. Her legacy is a testament to the power of disruption as a creative force.

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Now: Echoes in Contemporary Practice

While we could highlight many modern parallels within our collective, Krasner’s influence isn’t always direct—it’s often felt as permission: to break rules, to start over, to embrace boldness and complexity.

In recent projects within the Women’s Artists Collective, we’ve seen several artists exploring themes and techniques reminiscent of Krasner’s ethos: layering, deconstruction, emotional abstraction, and process-driven creation.

In a recent group exhibit, one member shared a mixed-media canvas that had been “destroyed and reassembled five times.” The result: a textured, chaotic, but cohesive piece that spoke of inner conflict and healing. Though the artist didn’t set out to emulate Krasner, the lineage is clear—the same instinct to go deep, then deeper still, without fear.

“Sometimes the work doesn’t arrive until the third or fourth version. But that’s part of what I love—it’s never about the first idea. It’s about finding the real one underneath.” – Collective Member, 2025

This process of self-revision is not only artistic but existential. Like Krasner, many women in our collective use art to ask, “Who am I now—and what must I unmake to find out?”

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A Living Dialogue

The connection between artists like Lee Krasner and today’s women artists is not just visual or stylistic. It is philosophical. It is radical in its assertion that our voices matter, in all their mess, contradiction, and evolution.

As we build community within the Women’s Artists Collective, we honor that history—not by replicating it, but by continuing it.

Art doesn’t move in a straight line. It loops, doubles back, ruptures and reforms. Just like we do.

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Want to Explore More?

• View Lee Krasner’s The Seasons here
• Follow us on Instagram @womensartistscollective for studio snapshots, creative prompts, and upcoming shows