RAPHAELLA SPENCE: THE VISIONARY OF HYPERREALISM

A Legacy of Architecture and Art

Born in London in 1978, Raphaella Beatrice Spence was destined to inherit the language of structure, light, and perspective. Her lineage reads like an architectural anthology — granddaughter of Sir Basil Spence, the mastermind behind Coventry Cathedral and the British Embassy in Rome, and daughter of Milton John Erwin Spence, whose architectural projects profoundly shaped her early aesthetic sensibility. Surrounded by meticulously hand-rendered blueprints and watercolored visualizations long before digital design tools existed, Raphaella absorbed the essence of realism from an early age.

Formative Years: From London to Umbria

After spending her early childhood in France, Spence’s family returned to London in 1986, where her artistic curiosity blossomed. By age twelve, the family relocated permanently to Todi, Italy, restoring a medieval mill that became the nucleus of her creative journey. Under her father’s mentorship, she refined her painting techniques and developed an eye for precision that would later define her artistic voice. Inspired by the undulating hills of Umbria, she began creating her first landscape series in oil — a poetic union of light, nature, and detail.

The Emergence of a Hyperrealist

Her professional ascent was rapid. In 1999, Spence debuted her first solo exhibition in Italy, which paved the way for her New York debut at Louis K. Meisel Gallery in 2003, marking her formal entry into the realm of hyperrealism. That same year, she participated in Iperrealisti at the Chiostro del Bramante Museum in Rome, curated by Gianni Mercurio, where DaimlerChrysler commissioned her to immortalize their PT Cruiser.

By 2004, she had moved to New York City, developing monumental cityscapes and aerial compositions that reflected modern urban life from a divine altitude. Her ability to merge photographic realism with emotional resonance positioned her among icons like Richard Estes, Chuck Close, Don Eddy, Ralph Goings, and Robert Cottingham — as the only woman in that hyperrealist circle.

Evolving Themes and Global Exhibitions

Returning to Italy in 2005, Spence’s art matured with socio-political depth. Her canvases began addressing global issues such as football violence and animal rights, with several pieces exhibited at the Musei Capitolini in Rome, later auctioned at Sotheby’s and Christie’s in support of UNHCR.

Between 2003 and 2008, she embarked on ambitious international projects, capturing city identities from Monte Carlo to Beijing. Her aerial depictions of the Monte Carlo Grand Prix and juxtaposed views of Beijing’s modern skyline against the Forbidden City became visual symphonies of culture and time.

A Museum Circuit of Influence

From 2012, Spence joined a major international museum tour that spanned over 14 institutions, including the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (Madrid), Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Kunsthal Rotterdam, and Tampa Museum of Art. Between 2018 and 2019, she further captivated audiences across Brazil with a traveling exhibition at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB), attracting nearly a million visitors.

Art as Environmental Testimony

In 2022, Spence introduced a powerful new chapter — a marine pollution series — revealing the haunting beauty of underwater plastic and waste. Using her own underwater photography as source material, these large-scale works debuted at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza and were permanently added to the museum’s collection. Through these, she reaffirmed her belief that art must reflect the conscience of its time.

Today, Raphaella Spence continues her creative evolution from Italy, preparing a retrospective for a private collectionthat will stand as a testament to her mastery and her message. She remains one of the world’s foremost contemporary hyperrealists, fusing traditional oil painting with urgent commentary on the modern condition.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS

2026
Museum Frieder Burda, The Power of Images: Hyperrealism, Baden-Baden, Germany

2025
Nassau County Museum of Art, At Play, Long Island, NY
2024
Parrish Art Museum, Permanent Collection, New York
Asheville Art Museum, Beyond the Lens, North Carolina

2023
Museo Nacional Thyssen Bornemisza, Hiper Realismo, Madrid
Asheville Art Museum, Beyond the Lens, North Carolina

2022
Museo Nacional Thyssen Bornemisza, Hiper Realismo, Madrid

2020
Arnot Art Museum, High Fidelity: Anthony Brunelli & The Digital Age Photorealist, Elmira, NY
CCBB – Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro

2019–2018
CCBB – Brasília & São Paulo, Hyperrealism, Brazil
Museu del Tabac, Andorra
Flint Institute of Arts, From Lens to Eye to Hand, Michigan

2017–2012
Kunsthal Museum, Rotterdam
Tampa Museum of Art, Florida
Parrish Museum of Art, Water Mill, NY
Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Spain
Osthaus Museum Hagen, Germany
Museum d’Ixelles, Brussels
KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, England
New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, USA
Tübingen Museum, Germany

2007–2003
Musei Capitolini, Rome
Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY
Chiostro del Bramante Museum, Rome

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022 — Astetic Kick, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York
2020 — Todi Festival 2020, Museo Civico di Todi, Italy
2016 — Saints and Sinners, Bernarducci.Meisel.Gallery, New York
2014 — A Million Lights, Bernarducci.Meisel.Gallery, New York
2011–2003 — Beijing, Crossroads, Bridge of Colors, Stolen Dreams, Bernarducci.Meisel.Gallery, New York
2004 — Solo Exhibition, Albemarle Gallery, London

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)

2025–2024 — Afterglow, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York; Liquid Art System (Miami, Capri, Positano, Ravello); Rarity Gallery, Mykonos; Aspen Art Gallery, Aspen
2023–2022 — The Enigma of Colour and Form, Mucciaccia Gallery (Singapore, London, Rome); Art Miami, Louis K. Meisel Gallery
2021–2015 — Art Hamptons, HeArtBid, Cityscapes, True Colors, Bernarducci.Meisel.Gallery
2014–2008 — Context Art Miami, Art Chicago, Arte Contemporanea per i Rifugiati (UNHCR, Sotheby’s & Christie’s)
2007–1999 — Albemarle Gallery (London), Alexander of Florence Gallery (San Francisco), Arte Fiera Bologna, Galleria Artesegno (Udine)