BIO & CV

BIO & CV

Francisco Rivas Leal (Caracas, 1982) is a visual artist who has lived and worked in Lisbon since 2011. He studied Fine Arts at the Central University of Venezuela and Graphic Design at the Instituto de Diseño de Caracas, complemented by further training in London, Buenos Aires and Lisbon.

Francisco Rivas Leal (Caracas, 1982) is a visual artist who has lived and worked in Lisbon since 2011. He studied Fine Arts at the Central University of Venezuela and Graphic Design at the Instituto de Diseño de Caracas, complemented by further training in London, Buenos Aires and Lisbon.

His work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions in Portugal, the United States, Belgium, Greece and Mexico. In 2023, he undertook an artistic residency and presented the solo exhibition Brut Life at the Centro de Artes e Cultura de Ponte de Sor, Portugal. The exhibition featured a large-scale installation, including works measuring up to six metres in length, which occupied an entire gallery.

His work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions in Portugal, the United States, Belgium, Greece and Mexico. In 2023, he undertook an artistic residency and presented the solo exhibition Brut Life at the Centro de Artes e Cultura de Ponte de Sor, Portugal. The exhibition featured a large-scale installation, including works measuring up to six metres in length, which occupied an entire gallery.

He has undertaken artistic residencies connected to exhibitions at public cultural institutions in Portugal and collaborates regularly with private galleries. He has also participated in group exhibitions at institutions and galleries including MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology in Lisbon, Van Der Plas Gallery and One Art Space Gallery in New York, as well as projects in Madeira and Lisbon.

He has undertaken artistic residencies connected to exhibitions at public cultural institutions in Portugal and collaborates regularly with private galleries. He has also participated in group exhibitions at institutions and galleries including MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology in Lisbon, Van Der Plas Gallery and One Art Space Gallery in New York, as well as projects in Madeira and Lisbon.

His practice primarily encompasses drawing, painting and graphic processes, with an ongoing interest in repetition, everyday visual culture and the materiality of gesture.

His practice primarily encompasses drawing, painting and graphic processes, with an ongoing interest in repetition, everyday visual culture and the materiality of gesture.

He is currently developing Orígenes: sexualidad y vergüenza, an artistic research project exploring memory, lineage and invisible cultural inheritances.

He is currently developing Orígenes: sexualidad y vergüenza, an artistic research project exploring memory, lineage and invisible cultural inheritances.

CURRICULUM VITAE

FRANCISCO ANTONIO RIVAS

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, 1982

Portuguese citizen

Portuguese and Venezuelan citizen

Based in Lisbon since 2011

EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

1998–2005

Studies in Fine Arts

Central University of Venezuela (UCV), Caracas, Venezuela

2000–2004

Graphic Design

Instituto de Diseño de Caracas (IDC), Caracas, Venezuela

1997–1998

Studies in Economic and Social Sciences (FACES)

Central University of Venezuela (UCV), Caracas, Venezuela

2017

Art Direction Course

University of the Arts London (UAL), London, United Kingdom

2006

2D Animation and Stop Motion Course

Image Campus, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2019

Cinema 4D Course

Odd School, Lisbon, Portugal

2025

Portfolio Building and Self-Promotion Workshop

Catalina Restrepo Art Office, Mexico City, Mexico

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2025

Drawing Installation

Independent Art Space, Wet Paint Studio, New York, USA

2023

Brut Life

Artistic residency and solo exhibition, Centro de Artes e Cultura de Ponte de Sor (CAC), Ponte de Sor, Portugal

2022

Inteligência Artificial

Centro Cultural John dos Passos, Madeira, Portugal

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026

Una Sensibilidad Aparte

Cabinet Gallery, Centro de Arte Los Galpones, Caracas, Venezuela

Permanent Exhibition

Mooni Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico

Las Quince Letras

Rancho Kaya, Mykonos, Greece

2025

EuroPride Gallery

Casa Cultural Jardim da Estrela, Lisbon, Portugal

The Archive Room

Still Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium

Poster Mostra

8 Marvilha, Lisbon, Portugal

2024

Wishlist Vol. 2

Still Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium

Whitewater Mykonos

Still Gallery & Rancho Kaya, Mykonos, Greece

2023

J.I.F.

ArtRoom, Lisbon, Portugal

2022

Purely Primary

Van Der Plas Gallery, New York, USA

Além-mar

Estalagem Ponta do Sol, Madeira, Portugal

2021

Simbioses

Galeria Merakii, Ponte de Sor, Portugal

Venezuela Art Fair

One Art Space Gallery, New York, USA

2020

Interstício

MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon, Portugal

Interstício

MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon, Portugal

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

2020

Workshop with artist Diego Barata, Interstício

MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon, Portugal

2019

Instructor, Animation Course

Odd School, Lisbon, Portugal

PRESS

2026

Una Sensibilidad Aparte — Cabinet Gallery — Link

Contenido y color en la obra — MoCuLat, Argentina–Chile — Link

2024

ArteCapital, Portugal — Link

Lufthansa Airline Portal, Germany — Link

2022

Direção Regional da Cultura, Portugal — Link

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

2021 Jury Member, 8th Edition of the Design P&M Awards, Portugal

COLLECTIONS

CAC Collection – Centro de Artes e Cultura de Ponte de Sor, Portugal

Private Collection of Patrick Simard, Quebec, Canada

Private Collection of João Mexias, Lisbon, Portugal

CURRICULUM VITAE