These AI artists are pushing the medium of AI while honouring the foundational principles of art and design, says Jessie Hughes, the senior creative technologist at Australian-founded Leonardo.AI.
Standing out means having something to say — and these women have cut through.
Gender and AI often weigh an imbalance on the backend, but when it comes to the front line, women artists are leading with creative distinction. In a sea of sameness fed by digital abundance, standing out is a notable feat, but it’s often female creators breaking free of AI stereotypes and pushing the medium into new territories.
While early AI art was shaped by the Web3 and NFT era — dominated by cyberpunk aesthetics with niche appeal, this new wave of design is reclaiming AI for nuanced, authentic expression. From creative directors, fashion designers, photographers and visual artists, their craft is being augmented with new technical capabilities.
Leonardo.Ai’s 2025 roundup of the 50 Top Women AI Artists unearths and celebrates creative distinction in the evolving art practice. With 26 countries featured and artists from New York, Dubai, Berlin, Buenos Aires, and homegrown creators from right here in Sydney, AI as an extension of creative expression has reached global appeal.
The artists in this list have authorship and distinct voices, delivering memorable visual excellence. They’re pushing the medium of AI while honouring the foundational principles of art and design. This approach, combined with their unique authorship and often bravery to challenge the tools, is creating something entirely new.
Spanning a range of disciplines and generations, many have exhibited at MoMA, the Guggenheim, and the Met. Others are shaping contemporary culture through Vogue covers and global brand campaigns.
The lineup includes legendary American artist Laurie Simmons — pivotal to the 1970s Pictures Generation — now in her 70s and pioneering new work with AI. Rising talents like Alina Aleksandrovna are producing visuals that once demanded massive production budgets. And provocative voices like Arvida Byström challenge AI’s relationship with the female experience, distorting her own image to interrogate digital identity.
AI’s creative landscape has been criticised for homogeneity but these women prove technology is only as compelling as the hands that shape it. They are redefining digital craftsmanship, dismantling misconceptions, and proving true authorship cuts through. Their work is distinctly their own.
“Women, underrepresented artists, are now building entire worlds out of nothing but vision, curiosity, and a few well-placed prompts.”
Vaniverse
The ultimate promise of generative AI lies in creative empowerment. It has democratised access to artistic production and helped dismantle barriers that have historically sidelined women — financial constraints, lack of resources, and the time investment for technical training.
AI has levelled the playing field.
From industry pioneers to emerging talents, below are five of the featured artists to keep an eye on. I’m inspired by these distinct voices — and I’m certain you will be too.
Lilyillo (born 1981, Sydney) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Canberra, Australia, working across traditional mediums of watercolour and drawing as well as digital AI mediums. Her work explores personal stories, family history and memories, concepts of identity, notions of craftsmanship and acts of making and unmaking.
Nastassja Abel is a German artist and co-founder of Serifa, whose work explores the intersections of AI, anonymity, and artistic expression. Featured by Vogue, Perfect, Hube and Zeit, her art explores themes of encryption, incognito, and the beauty of imperfection. Embracing AI for its chaos factor, Nastassja creates visually striking, intentionally unsettling works as a daily practice, inviting viewers to find meaning in the blurred and ambiguous.
Alina P. Aleksandrovna is a generative artist who thrives in the tension between control and surrender, using AI as both a tool and an unpredictable force. Her practice is an obsessive act of patience — stripping away habitual design choices to uncover unexpected, fragmented beauty through trial and iteration. In her work, randomness isn’t a glitch but a pursuit, a way of making space for the unknown to emerge.
Vichy Abalos is a Spanish AI artist and creative director who operates at the intersection of technology, cybernetics, and surreal digital aesthetics. Describing her practice as a “virtual operating room,” she dissects and reconstructs imagination using AI tools. From character designs to visual treatments, her work transforms speculative concepts into otherworldly artworks that blur the line between human and machine
Rotem Goeta-Mitz is a fashion designer and AI artist who merges cutting-edge technology with contemporary fashion design. She is the co-founder of Future Positive, specializing in crafting immersive narratives through AI and 3D design for fashion and luxury brands. By integrating real-life products with AI and CGI visuals, the studio seamlessly bridges the virtual and physical worlds, creating visionary scenes ranging from hyper-realistic to dreamlike.
Jessie Hughes is an awarded creative technologist, her works having exhibited most notably at Sundance, Cannes and the Tate Modern. Jessie is the Senior Creative Technologist at generative AI leader, Leonardo.Ai, and is the curator of Leonardo’s roundup of AI-industry excellence.
Explore the full list of 50 women AI artists shaping the future.
