Bianca Raffaella

Last updated
Bianca Raffaella
Born1992 (age 3132)
Nationality British
Education
Known for
Notable workIn the Rose Garden (2022)
Website biancaraffaella.com

Bianca Raffaella (born 1992 in London, England) is a British artist, activist and public speaker. [1]

Contents

Raffaella is registered blind and known for 'tactile painting' [1] [2] along with her use of 'soft colours, dusty shadows, and smooth empty spaces which symbolise vision loss'; [3] described by Jonathan Jones in The Guardian as 'ethereally beautiful works'. [4] Her work explores themes of memory, perception, and fragility. [5]

The first registered blind student to graduate from Kingston University with a First class degree in the visual arts. [2] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Invited Keynote Speaker at Beyond Seeing (2016–18), a project by the Goethe-Institut in Paris. [10] [11] Invited lecturer and collaborator at Institut Français de la Mode alongside Chanel. [2]

Panelist on the March 2023 Tate Modern Late talk, Please Touch the Art. [1]

Selected by Tracey Emin for the inaugural Tracey Emin Artist Residency (2023–24) at TKE Studios, Margate. [4] [12] [13] [14] [15]

Named one of Three To Watch, Hotly tipped female talent of the British art scene by Harper's Bazaar in their annual art supplement, alongside two Turner Prize 2024 nominees Jasleen Kaur and Delaine Le Bas. [16] [17] [18] [19]

Selected exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

12 January 2023 (2023-01-12) 5 March 2023 (2023-03-05): Hushed Impressions, Orleans House Gallery, London [20] [21]
A multi-sensory exhibition focused on accessibility in the visual arts. [2]
24 June 2024 (2024-06-24) 24 June 2024 (2024-06-24): Artist of the Day, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London [22]
Selected by Tracey Emin. Raffaella opened the 25th edition of Artist of the Day, a landmark programme started by Angela Flowers and Matthew Flowers in 1983. Interviewed by Martha Kearney alongside Emin, for the BBC Radio 4 programme Today. [23] Followed by a public panel discussion and Q&A with Emin.
12 February 2025 (2025-02-12) 15 March 2025 (2025-03-15): Faint Memories, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London [24]

Group exhibitions

22 September 2021 (2021-09-22) 2 January 2022 (2022-01-02): Summer Exhibition , Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Coordinated by Yinka Shonibare, under his theme of ‘Reclaiming Magic’. [25] [26]
6 November 2021 (2021-11-06) 21 November 2021 (2021-11-21): Breaking Ground, Orleans House Gallery, London [27]
Coinciding with Richmond Literature Festival. [28]
21 November 2022 (2022-11-21) 16 December 2022 (2022-12-16): Layers of Vision, Bush House, London
In collaboration with King's College London, Shape Arts and AccessArt. Coinciding with UK Disability History Month. [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] Raffaella exhibited a commissioned polyptych titled In the Rose Garden (2022). [44]
18 November 2023 (2023-11-18) 28 January 2024 (2024-01-28): TEARS, TKE Studios, Margate
Inaugural artists' residency exhibition.
29 June 2024 (2024-06-29) 29 June 2024 (2024-06-29): Artist of the Day: Group Show, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London [22]
30 June 2024 (2024-06-30) 1 September 2024 (2024-09-01): TEARS: The Final Show, TKE Studios, Margate
The final show for the inaugural Tracey Emin Artists' Residency.

Selected awards

Artist residencies

2022/23 — Artist-in-residence, Orleans House Gallery, London
2023/24 — TEAR, Margate
Selected by Tracey Emin for the inaugural Tracey Emin Artist Residency (2023–24) at TKE Studios in Margate.

Commissions

2022 — Commissioned by King's College London in collaboration with Shape Arts and AccessArt
Coinciding with UK Disability History Month.

Features

24 June 2024 (2024-06-24) 24 June 2024 (2024-06-24): Artist of the Day, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London [22]
Selected by Tracey Emin. Raffaella opened the 25th edition of Artist of the Day, a landmark programme started by Angela Flowers and Matthew Flowers in 1983. Interviewed by Martha Kearney alongside Emin, for the BBC Radio 4 programme Today. [23] Followed by a public panel discussion and Q&A with Emin.
November 2024 — Three To Watch, Hotly tipped female talent of the British art scene, Harper's Bazaar Magazine UK
Named alongside two Turner Prize 2024 nominees Jasleen Kaur and Delaine Le Bas in the Harper's Bazaar annual art supplement. [16] [17] [18] [19]

Selected collections

Reception

"You have to peer closely into Bianca Raffaella’s gorgeous figure studies to discern the shadowy nudes that lurk within them. Predominantly white, Raffaella’s art has the fragile beauty of a fresh fall of snow." — Waldemar Januszczak, 28 July 2024, The Sunday Times [45]


"Bianca Raffaella, a partially sighted painter, is working close up on a painting to add to the ethereally beautiful works covering her walls and floor." — Jonathan Jones, 28 March 2023, The Guardian [4]

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2023 The Unique Boutique Herself, Guest DesignerEpisode 2 [46]

Radio

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2024 Today (BBC Radio 4) Herself, ArtistEpisode released 29 Jun 2024 [23]

See also

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