HeI am all of the women I paint. I am the young girl who questions the future, and the one who bricks hers in daydreams.
I’m the woman who looks vulnerable, and the one that feels invincible. I’m that kid who is tender, and the lady who is slender.
I’m the mother who gives birth, and the one who pleases men. I’m the beauty Queen, I’m the woman who broke free.
I’m the woman who spreads her wings wide, and the ones who shelter by her side.
I’m the fighter, I’m the lover, I’m the loser, I’m the scorer.
I am all of the women I painted, and if one day I paint men, I will also be them.
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Rosso's portraiture vividly brings to life women whose life stories and societal viewpoints mirror her own, encapsulating a deep personal connection. These portraits feature women with intent gazes and somber expressions, positioned in the limelight, thereby igniting the viewer's imagination and eliciting profound, personal reflections.
By weaving together traditional and contemporary painting techniques, Rosso achieves a unique blend that harmonizes the abstract with the figurative, creating a striking visual balance. Her artwork, characterized by exquisitely rendered portraits and figures, seems to emerge from complex, decaying backgrounds, suggesting themes of renewal and emergence from periods of decline. Rosso's artistic process represents a relentless pursuit of understanding the intricate interplay among her depicted human figures, the abstract settings they inhabit, and her personal emotional journey. It is as though she is methodically uncovering the layers to expose the very heart of human existence.
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Italian born, Rosso has been living in London/UK since early 2000. She gained a MA in Human Rights and International Relations and worked in advertising before discovering her true call for painting, in her 30s. She retrained then, attending the London Atelier of Representational Art (LARA) part-time and taking private tuition from artists whose work deeply inspired her.
She has won several art prizes since the beginning of her artistic career, including the 2016 “Emerald Winter Pride Award”, organised by Pride UK; the first prize for the Holly Bush “Emerging Woman Painter Prize” (now Women In Art / WIA Prize), leading to Rosso’s first solo exhibition at CASSart headquarters gallery in London. She won the first prize for the portrait/figurative category at the “Jackson Open Painting Prize” in 2019. She was selected to participate in “Sky Portrait Artist Of The Year” in 2019 and 2021. In 2021, she was finalist in the renown “Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize”, which opened doors to collaborations and exhibitions internationally with galleries in US (Sugarlift, RLS, Principle Gallery), Canada (James Baerd Gallery), Norway (Romfjord Gallery), Germany (Stoerpunkt). More recently she’s been selected for ModPortrait 2023, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI), ING Discerning Eye and the Society of Women Artists SWA, and exhibited at MEAM (Museum Modern Art) in Barcelona, and at the Mall Galleries in London. Her work has been in the cover of “The Artist Magazine” (UK) and Arena Magazine (Australia), and included in the “Portraits for NHS Heroes” book (2021). She has contributed to the International Artist Magazine (issue 158), and has often be featured in Colossal, Create Mag, Evolved Mag, MyModernMet, Artists&Illustrator, and Vogue India.
Competitions and Awards
2024 — Finalist for ModPortrait 2024
2024 — SWA (Society of Women Artist)
2023 — ROI (Royal Institute of Oil Painters) 2023
2023 — ING Discerning Eye 2023
2021 — Finalist in the “Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize” 2021 (traditional art)
2021 — Honorable mention “Blue Review Art Prize” 2021 (New York)
2021 — Shortlisted for “The Viking Cruise Art Prize 2021” (A&I magazine)
2020 — Contestant in “Sky Portrait Artist of The Year SERIES 7”, PAOTY Sky Arts
2019 — WINNER of the Portrait/Figure Prize of the “Jackson Open Painting Prize 2019” (JOPP2019)
2019 — “The Artist's Exhibition Award”, TALP OPEN 2019
2019 — “The Harbour Gallery Award”, TALP OPEN 2019
2019 — Contestant in “Sky Portrait Artist of The Year 2019”, PAOTY Sky Arts
2018 — Shortlisted for “Artist of The Year 2018”, Mall Galleries (Artists and Illustrator)
2017 — WINNER of the “Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize 2017”
2016 — WINNER of the “Emerald Winter Pride Art Awards 2016”
PRESS & publications
International Artist Magazine (issue 158 / 8-pages feature)
The Artist Magazine (UK) (cover + 4 issues)
Colossal
Vogue India
Create Magazine
Evolved mag
Colossal
John Dalton Podcast (“Rosso Emerald Crimson Uncut”, an interview with John Dalton Dec.2021)
Artsummit
Artists&Illustrator
“Arena magazine”, cover for issue 161, Aug. 2019
The Artist’s Magazine
“Portraits for NHS Heroes”, Nov. 2020
“The Artist Magazine”, October issue, 2019
Anuario "Arte y Libertad XIII", Artelibre, 2018
The Guide Artists, Interview of the month, Issue 11, Jan. 2018
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
“Around the World”, Principle Gallery , Charleston (US), June-Aug. 2024
MODPORTRAIT 2023, Meam Museum, Barcelona, May - Nov 2024
SWA (Society of Women Artist), Mall galleries, London, June 2024
ROI - Royal Society of Oil Painters, Mall galleries, London, Dec 2023
ING Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London, Nov 2023
Mimesis, Representanional Art 2023, MEAM Barcelona, Apr-June 2023
La Favola, Antonella Scarfone Gallery, Pisa, 2023
Artdom Project, Grand Hotel, Oslo, April 2023
”Texture” exhibition, Principle Gallery (US) - November/December 2022
WAGMI, CAP Gallery, Kuwait City (Kuwait) - November 2022
NFT London (displayed on the entry ticket)
Woman, James Baird Gallery, Canada - October 2022
Uncurated, Stoerpunkt, Munich, July/Aug 2022
NFTNYC 2022 - June 21 - 24th
Many Moons, Rober Lange Studio Gallery, US - May/June 2022
Sky Art Self-portrait Exhibition, Compton Verney Hall, UK - Feb-June 2022
The Blue Review Art Prize exhibition, Sugarlift gallery, (New York/ online on Etsy), Nov. 2021
Major Figures, Saatchiart, Oct/Dec. 2021
Summer exhibition, GALLERI RAMFJORD, Oslo (July 2021)
“The Viking Cruise Art Exhibition” (shortlist group exhibition), London
“The Artists’ Exhibition”, with “The Artists Magazine”, Patching Art Centre, Notthingam
“Women in Art”, Zebra One Gallery, London (March 2021)
“Group Show”, Zebra One Gallery, London (Feb. 2021)
2019-2020
Summer Exhibition, Green & Stone Gallery, Fulham, London (Aug. 2020)
The Artist Collection, Patchings Art Centre, Nottinghamshire, October - November 2020
THE OTHER ART FAIR, CALM art collective x Connor Brothers, London, March 2020
Elevate 02, The Shard, London, December 2019
Art Fair East, Underdog Gallery, Norwich, November 2019
Utopia, BSMT relaunch, BSMT, London, October 2019
Summer Exhibition, Underdog Gallery, London, August 2019
The Artist Open Art Competition (TALP OPEN 2019), Patching Art Centre, Notthinghamshire, 2019
AFFORDABLE ART FAIR, Jackson Painting Prize Finalists, Hampstead Heath, May 2019
The Occult and Symbolism, Underdog Gallery, London, April 2019
Selected past exhibitions
Art Fair East, Underdog Gallery, Norwich (Dec 2018)
Rosso going Solo, The Art Space, Cass Art, Islington, London, (June 2018 - part of the Holly Bush Painter Prize 2017)
Artist of The Year 2018, Mall Galleries, London (Feb 2018)
AWE, Art Women and Evolution, The Bloosmbury, London (Feb 2018)
WIA women in art, Peggy Jay Gallery, Burgh House, Hampstead, London (2017)
Summer Show, Creative Debut, London (2017)
"The Londoner Compass", The Strand Gallery, London (2017)
"WITP", The Strand Gallery, London (2016)
"Tribe16", Chrom Art, The Ugly Duck, London (2016)
"It's Art Exhibition", D-Contemporary, Mayfair, London (2016)
"Debased", Cultivate collective, BSMT space, London (2016)
"The Human Figure: Myth and Storytelling", The Gallery, Stoke Newington, London (2016)
"Summer Salon", Islington Art Factory, London (2016)
"Emerald Life Winter Pride Art Awards", Islington Art Factory, London (2016)
"Hand Maid", S'A collective, Hoxton Arches Gallery, London(2016)
"Urban Art Experience", Nude Tin Can Gallery, St Albans (2016)
"Homunculus", Asylum, London (2016)
“ICADF 2015”, Islington Contemporary Art & Design Fair, London (2015)
“Painting & Sculpture”, Candid Art Gallery, London (2015)
“Portraits”, Espacio gallery, London (2015)
“Outsider Art Exhibition”, Candid Art Gallery, London (2015)
“FLUX”, Gray’s Art Gallery, London (2015)
“Seams”, Sweat’Art Collective, Hoxton Arches Gallery, London (2015)
“Royal Art in the World – Italian and Foreign Contemporary Art”, ROA Royal Opera Arcade, London (2015)
“NOT the Royal Academy”, Llewellyn Alexander Gallery, London (2014)
“Artsdepot Open 2014”, Artsdepot, London (2014)