Across Alicante, women artists have long faced the challenge of carving out space and identity within a patriarchal art world. The book The making of the stolen subject. Art made by women in Alicante (1950-2020) offers a broad view of how female creators transformed themselves and their practice over seven decades, tracing a path toward recognition and self-definition as female artistic subjects.
This keynote discussion at the UA Headquarters in Alicante, hosted on San Fernando street, reflects a collaborative effort between UA Broadcasting Service and Alfons El Magnanim Institution in cooperation with the Valencian Community Museums Consortium. It examines the modernization of Alicante artists after 1950 and studies the work and figures of 288 pages of art, featuring 24 artists from Alicante. The discussion highlights common threads across generations and the questions these artists raise about their place in the art world and the worldview they construct.
“Silence”, a 1953 work by Juana Freancés, underscores the visual language discussed in the publication and serves as a touchstone for the themes explored—information about the work is provided here for context.
From a roster of established figures such as Polín Laporta, Juana Francés, María Chana, Carme Jorques, Elena Jiménez, Iluminada García-Torres, and Ana Teresa Ortega, the book also includes the careers of contemporary protagonists like Cristina de Middel, Olga Diego, Rosell Meseguer, Rosana Antolí, Susana Guerrero, Perceval Graells, and Inma Femenía. Additional practitioners featured include Isabel Rico, Mª Dolores Mulá, Luisa Pastor, Elena Aguilera, Mónica Jover, Dolores Balsalobre, Cristina Ferrández, Aurelia Masanet, Pilar Sala, and Silvia Sempere. With insights from 24 experts—comprising six men and eighteen women—the work frames the discourse around four thematic axes: internalization, the tension between constraint and freedom, nature, and the threads that bind life and the surrounding world.
In the introduction, the text articulates how themes such as aesthetic freedom and philosophical agency shape the identity of artists like María Chana, Cristina de Middel, Isabel Rico, Cristina Ferrández, Aurelia Masanet, Olga Diego, Ana Teresa Ortega, and Polín Laporta. The editor notes these threads as common motifs in women’s art, reflecting a shared impulse seen across the global community of female creators. The discussion also highlights significant shifts: a break with formalism, modernization of practices, the inclusion of informalist tendencies, new materials and supports, a candid consideration of the body in art, and a dialogue on multiculturalism and globalization that broadens the field.
Another important facet is the examination of how female artists navigate public perception—how they present themselves as creators and how they challenge the male gaze. The publication frames the journey of women artists as a political and social project, encompassing civic responsibility and community impact. The author emphasizes that this endeavor is not merely about making art but about contributing to a more equal society through creative expression and critical visibility.
In discussing the evolution of their practices, the book notes the way women in Alicante and beyond have redefined artistic autonomy. They explore how business considerations, representation, and creative decisions intersect, shaping a distinctly feminine perspective that resists traditional stereotypes while asserting a strong, independent voice within the art market. The text also traces how these artists address desire, fear, and empowerment, demonstrating the transformative potential of art when it speaks from a gendered viewpoint rather than through the old patriarchal lens.