Comscore

Please upgrade your browser for the best Refinery29 experience. Read more.

Saved! Access Favorites in your account profile. Removed from my favorites
WATCH THE VIDEO
PHOTOGRAPHED BY GEORDY PEARSON.

10 Artists Breaking All The Rules

Who's more daring: The woman who re-imagines stripping as social commentary or the one who overhauls the artistic style that made her famous? In truth, that's the wrong question to ask. Both are incredible. They represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the tremendous pool of talent making waves in the art world.

And, in our book, there's nothing bolder — or more beautiful — than a woman who does what she wants and makes no apologies for it. Which is precisely what we're celebrating here today. With some help from the tastemakers at Revlon, we're paying tribute to a few of the gutsiest artists out there in the latest installment of "Beauty Nation: The New Provocateurs."

These 10 inventive women will challenge everything you think you know about "creative types." Whether they’re using their hands, a camera, or even their naked bodies to tell a story, these artists are creating works that challenge how we see the world. So, if trailblazers and envelope-pushers are your thing, keep reading. You might find your definition of beauty upended.

Chrissy Angliker

BN_Feature1_Horizontal_Chrissy
It's not unusual for an artist to be a perfectionist. Swiss-born painter Chrissy Angliker, on the other hand, rebels against perfection with every painting. When a drip threatened to ruin one of her early pieces, she co-opted the mistake and turned it into her own signature “drippy” style. Then, just as she started making a name for herself as the drippy painter, she changed her aesthetic once again.

Now, Angliker’s taken her work to even more of an extreme. Gloppy and almost psychedelic, her new paintings are truly indulgent, with paint layered on like pulled taffy and vibrant colors that practically leap off the canvas. She fearlessly lets the paint take control, without any guarantee on what the final product might look like. Isn’t that kind of perfect in its own way?

Revlon_BeautyNation_PullQuote_ChrissyAngliker

All products by Revlon. Age Defying Firming & Lifting Makeup, $14.99; PhotoReady Skinlights Face Illuminator, $12.99; ColorStay Shadowlinks Eye Shadow in Copper, $2.99; Bold Lacquer by Grow Luscious Length & Volume Mascara, $7.99; Powder Blush in Oh Baby! Pink, $9.99; Powder Bronzer in Bronzilla, $9.99; ColorBurst Matte Lip Balm in Striking, $8.99.

BN_Feature3_Vertical_ChrissyPHOTOGRAPHED BY GEORDY PEARSON.
Why I trust my gut
"I started painting seriously when I was 13, then I studied design in school and began designing professionally. When it got to the point where I was successful enough to live off of my designs, I started to realize something was missing — and I knew it was painting. So, I quit my job, started painting again for the first time in six years, and started to figure out how to slowly change my life so that could be my focus. I just realized this is what I loved and it might not be the most rational way of living, but it was an undeniable thing."

The biggest risk I ever took
"Leaving my home and family and country when I was 16 to pursue art was pretty bananas! I wasn’t scared then, but when I look back now, I’m like, man, I had balls, But, when you’re younger, you don’t know how to fear things the same way when you’re older. I knew what I wanted to do and I didn’t have any opportunities to do what I wanted to do in Switzerland, so I went for it. One thing that keeps driving me is that regret is a way bigger emotion than fear will ever be."

How being a woman has influenced my art
"I just recently started to make friends with women artists, and a lot of them are older than me and quite successful — power women. I think they made me start thinking more about my femininity. Since I was very little, I spent all my time with boys because I thought they had much more fun than girls. I think it's because boys were allowed to do everything, and girls weren’t. When I started hanging out with these women, I was like, wow, they’re acting like boys because they’re doing whatever they want. Then I realized, no, we’re just doing our own thing — it has nothing to do with being a boy or girl. I’m trying to embrace that rather then trying to join the boys' club. It’s really inspiring."

GetTheLook_ChrissyAngliker
Tibi Crop Top; Ashish Sequin Palm Tree Pant; 
Zara Shoe

.

Makeup by Ashleigh Ciucci; hair by Bethany Brill; styled by Laura Pritchard.
Celia Rowlson Hall
>>