About the artist

Tania Rivilis

Exhibitions and prizes

International practice

Since 2019, Rivilis has exhibited regularly with Bonnard Galerie in the Netherlands and Arcadia Contemporary in New York. Her work has also been presented at LA Art Show, Amsterdam First Art Fair, Art Basel Miami and Art Herning in Denmark.

From 2022 onward, her paintings entered major portrait exhibitions in London. She won the William Lock Portrait Prize at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 2022 and was shortlisted for both the William Lock Portrait Prize and the Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture in 2024.

Her work has since appeared in museum and institutional contexts including Mall Galleries, Christie’s London, MEAM Museum in Barcelona, Espacio75 in Madrid and the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Recent milestones

Museums, books and institutions

Rivilis took part in the “Note to Self” exhibition at Christie’s London, curated by Mashonda Tifrere. In 2024, one of her works was selected for a book by Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, and her painting appeared on the cover of the Spanish magazine LaSocioCultural.

In 2025, she was longlisted for both the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. The same year brought a solo exhibition at Espacio75 in Madrid and participation in Figurativas at the MEAM Museum in Barcelona.

Commissions and collaborations

Portraits beyond the studio

Among her notable commissions is the portrait of Baroness Janet Anne Royall of Blaisdon for Somerville College, Oxford. The work was shown at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 2025.

She also created a portrait of Pamela Mitford for UKTV’s series Outrageous. Other collaborations have connected her practice with actors and cultural figures including Val Kilmer, Mark Gatiss and Laurence Fuller.

Collaborations and media

From Times Square to BBC World

Rivilis’s paintings have appeared on large-scale Times Square billboards and in international campaigns, extending her portrait practice beyond galleries and museums.

Her media appearances include the BBC World interview Women Painting Portraits in 2023, alongside continuing collaborations across contemporary art, film and culture.

Teaching and mentorship

Sharing the practice

Since 2024, Rivilis has led workshops and mentorship programs internationally, including ArtEscape Italy and sessions in Portugal, New York, Mexico and Spain. Her mentorship work has also connected her with programs featuring artists such as Ruprecht von Kaufmann and Vincent Desiderio.

Tania Rivilis currently lives and works primarily in Portugal, continuing to expand her international presence and deepen her exploration of the portrait as a living, relational space.