Lisa Rickard’s artwork can best be described as Imaginative Realism. The figures in her paintings allegorically represent an abstract idea partially conceived while drawing in graphite prior to painting the dancing light she imagines flowing over human form. Born in Philadelphia, she fell in love with the allegorical figure as a teenager when she began drawing regularly from a live model who was a ballet dancer.
She attended Temple University’s Tyler School of Art receiving her BFA in graphic design from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design followed by two decades as a commercial artist in an advertising agency & the marketing department of a global corporation. Later, she mentored with classical realism oil painters to begin her journey in figure painting. Her insights into the power of the human form have been strengthened by time spent as a dancer & dance instructor. Her particular interest is painting the human form as a representation of an invisible reality. As she explains, “Allegory in visual art happens when the subject of the work & visible elements of the composition convey inherently invisible universal aspects.” The allegorical figure will always be her preference for visually communicating emotional states of mind or to personify abstract concepts like the idea of time embodied in the beautiful complexity of human form.
Her group exhibitions include shows at Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art (Wisconsin), Manifest Gallery (Ohio), Dacia Gallery (New York), 33 Contemporary Gallery (Florida), & Trax Visual Art Center (South Carolina) and online at Almenara Collection, Artsy, California Art League, & Art-Fluent. Lisa's work has been awarded by Art Renewal Center’s 14th, 15th, 16th 17th Salons, International Guild of Realism, the San Fernando Valley Arts & Culture Center & The Richeson School of Art/Gallery and featured in American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, International Artist, Best of Drawing, Artists Magazine & in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine’s online blog. Three paintings & three drawings are included digitally in time capsules that NASA launched to the moon as part of the Lunar Codex project (www.lunarcodex.com).
CV
2025 almenaracollection.com almenara art prize online exhibition
2025 33 contemporary gallery florida language of paper
2025 33 contemporary gallery florida poetic response
2025 art-fluent.com serenity
2025 art-fluent.com obscura
2025 american art collector magazine jul p71
2025 fine art connoisseur magazine aug p43 56
2025 manifest gallery cincinnati ohio /MEA S16th exhibition annual p76 78 247 250 322
2025 artsy.net 33contemporary gallery /mini me
2024 artrenewal.org 17th international ARC salon /lunarcodex.com /digitized on moon
2024 realismguild.com & americanartcollector.com IGOR fall salon /american art collector magazine oct p42 p88
2024 almenaracollection.com almenara art prize online exhibition
2024 richeson75.com portrait/figure online exhibition
2024 best of drawing magazine winter p77
2024 fine art connoisseur magazine jul/aug p51
2024 artsy.net 33contemporary gallery /eros
2024 manifest gallery cincinnati ohio /INDA15th international drawing annual
2023 almenaracollection.com almenara art prize
2023 richeson75.com portrait/figure
2023 fine art connoisseur magazine jan/feb p63
2023 best of drawing magazine winter p61 p75
2023 artsy.net 33contemporary gallery /dream a little dream exhibit /catalog /lunarcodex.com/ digitized on moon
2023 artsy.net 33contemporary gallery /desperately seeking madonna exhibit /catalog /lunarcodex.com /digitized on moon
2022 artrenewal.org 16th international ARC salon
2022 wausau museum of contemporary art wausau wisconsin /painting the figure now
2022 artsy.net 33contemporary gallery /painting the figure now exhibit/catalog/ lunarcodex.com/ digitized on moon
2022 wausau museum of contemporary art wausau wisconsin /salon des refuses exhibition
2022 realismguild.com & americanartcollector.com IGOR fall salon creative achievement award /american art collector magazine nov p135
2022 artsy.net 33contemporary gallery /is it a photograph?
2022 artsy.net 33contemporary gallery /just nudes
2022 artsy.net 33contemporary gallery /just drawings
2022 artsy.net 33contemporary gallery /exertion
2022 artsy.net 33contemporary gallery /mujer /lunarcodex.com /digitized on moon
2022 sfvacc.com san fernando valley arts & cultural center /human form & figure
2022 best of drawing magazine winter p41
2021 artrenewal.org 15th international ARC salon /art renewal center /international realism book p185
2021 artists magazine jan/feb p75 honor award
2021 international artist magazine april/may p19
2021 realismguild.com & americanartcollector.com IGOR spring salon /american art collector magazine april p66
2021 art-fluent.com femme
2021 artsy.net 33contemporary gallery /curves exhibit /catalog /lunarcodex.com /digitized on moon
2021 richeson75.com kimberly wisconsin /richeson75 international figure/portrait /honor award /book p57 p58 p120
2021 sfvacc.com san fernando valley arts & cultural center /models in motion /first place
2021 californiaartleague.com delights & shadows
2021 art-fluent.com lumiere
2020 artrenewal.org 14th international ARC salon /art renewal center /international realism book p147 p417
2020 international artist magazine dec/jan p15
2020 manifest gallery cincinnati ohio /nude
2020 manifest gallery cincinnati ohio /magnitude seven
2020 trax visual art center lake city south carolina /artfields
2019 dacia gallery new york new york /international women’s group
2019 manifest gallery cincinnati ohio /dark
2019 trax visual art center lake city south carolina /artfields exhibit /book p142