Artists to Follow if You Like Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo is considered one of the greatest painters in Mexico, and her artworks sit among the most renowned works of the modern era. She is an artist who developed a distinctive style that captured the essence of both her identity and her life. Painting in response to her own reality, she vividly translated her pain and passion through self-portraits and symbolic imagery embedded with psychological subtext. Through haunting compositions, her corporeal paintings provide a biographical narrative and shed light on Mexico's culture in the 20th century and have paved the way for contemporary portraiture and surrealist works today. Although Frida's paintings only gained recognition years after her death, she is now known as one of the most prominent female artists in art history.

This week, The Artling has put together a collection of artists whose artworks are evocative of Frida Kahlo's surrealist portraits.

Karenina Fabrizzi

Karenina Fabrizzi is an Italian artist who lives and works in Barcelona, Spain. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she later obtained a Fine Art and Graphic Design Degree, she went on to study in several countries, including Germany, Spain, and London. Her figurative works infuse elements of nature as she feels that it highlights the impermanence of existence. 

"What I want people to see with my work is the fact that we are here just for a brief amount of time, and how magnificent life is, so beautiful and powerful no matter how bad our circumstances can be."

Özlem Çetin

Turkish artist Özlem Çetin worked as the assistant of painter Murat Pulat for three years. For Özlem, the most impactful period of her professional life was at the Erenköy Spirit and Nervous Diseases Hospital. This experience influenced the focus of her work, and she began to depict the effects of depression, introspection, and the breakdown of our relationship with nature in her paintings. Her surreal portraits focus on the idea of symbiosis, representing dual states of being within singular portraits. 

Karolina Franceschini

Karolina Franceschini was born in Poland, where she studied art and design in one of the main Fine Art Academies. Now, she is based in Glasgow, Scotland and is a member of the Society of Scottish Artists. Her paintings illustrate her process of self-confrontation, exploration of Scottish folklore, and vibrant botanical imagery.

"My painting is purely intuitive; it flows out of me naturally and almost effortlessly."

Diana Rosa

Diana Rosa's works are a stylistic amalgam of figurative, folk, and nature. The Canadian artist takes inspiration from an alternative upbringing where she connected with the natural landscape around her. Her paintings have strong autobiographical elements, mixing realism and fantasy. Living in an urban environment in Brampton, Ontario, Diana aims to convey our relationship to the world around us through the versatile medium of acrylic paint. She uses sharp brushstrokes and contrasting textures to comment and contemplate our human emotions. 

Claire Denarie-Soffietti

Born and raised in Versailles, France, Claire Denarie-Soffietti moved to South Africa in 1981, studying law at the University of the Witwatersrand. Claire's surreal figurations often sit within botanical backdrops and reflect her cross-cultural influences. Her paintings highlight her exploration of colour and defined detailed patterns, infusing elements of Fauvism and Impressionism. 

Adha Widhayansah

Adha Widhayansah is a self-taught Indonesian painter born in Pekalongan, Java. His artistic style combines aspects of Impressionism and realism with poised female figures in nature as the central subject of his paintings. For Adha, maintaining a balance of the elements in his works is a direct result of the steadiness in his own thoughts, words, and actions, which he believes to be the secret to a harmonious life.

Click here to check out more artworks if you like Frida Kahlo. At The Artling, we have artworks in a wide range of styles by artists from all over the world that you can browse here. If you need additional guidance or have specific requirements, get in touch with our expert curators on any page.