Alessandro Raho

Alessandro Raho is known for painting portraits of friends and family, seascapes, landscapes and still lives. Using fine oils, Raho’s paintings have a fresh contemporary approach and are often described as dealing with narrative, nostalgia and desire. Raho employs intricate technical processes to make his paintings luxuriously photographic and is praised for his minimalistic portraits characterized by their serene, white backgrounds. In 2004, Raho was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery in London to paint a portrait of English actress Dame Judi Dench. Imagining Dench as a wealthy housewife, he painted her in a way that thrilled and flattered her.

Alessandro Raho (b. 1971, Nassau, Bahamas) lives and works in London. Over the past few decades, Raho's work has been shown at Alison Jacques Gallery (London, UK); Taro Nasu (Tokyo, Japan); De Brock Gallery (Knokke, Belgium); Cheim & Read (New York, USA); Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac (Paris, France) and Monica de Cardenas (Milan, Italy). His work is included in prestigious collections worldwide, such as the National Portrait Gallery (London, UK); Tate Collection (London, UK); The Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA); Seattle Museum of Art (Seattle, NY) and the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, USA).

Alessandro Raho, *Ewan*, 1995, oil on canvas, 259 x 183 cm

Most things don't work out as expected, but what happens instead often turns out to be the good stuff.
Alessandro Raho

Biography

Education

1989 - 1990
Croydon College of Art, London, UK
1991 - 1994
Goldsmiths College, London, UK

Special commissions

2016
Official Portrait of Matthew Barzun, US Ambassador to the UK
2005
Portrait of Dame Judi Dench, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK

Solo Exhibitions

2021
Alison Jacques, London, UK
2018
Kingsgate Project Space, London, UK
2017
Taro Nasu, Tokyo, Japan
2015
Secession, Vienna, Austria
Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK
Patrick De Brock Gallery, Knokke, Belgium
2012
Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK
2011
The Pavilion of Realism, Thomas Williams Fine Art, London, UK
2009
Effearte Gallery, Milan, Italy
2008
Ruzicska Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
Thomas Williams Fine Art, London, UK; special exhibition curated by Charles Asprey
2006
Ruzicska Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
2005
Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK
2004
National Portrait Gallery, London, UK; new display showing Judi Dench painting with works from the NPG collection selected by Alessandro Raho
2003
Cheim & Read, New York, NY, USA
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
2002
Taro Nasu, Tokyo, Japan
2001
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
2000
aspreyjacques, London, UK
1999
Taro Nasu, Tokyo, Japan
1997
Monica de Cardenas, Milan, Italy
1996
Maureen Paley / Interim Art, London, UK
Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
1995
Rena Bransten, San Francisco, CA, USA
Maureen Paley / Interim Art, London, UK

Public Collections

Portugal
Berardo Collection, Lisbon
UK
National Portrait Gallery, London
Tate Collection, London
US
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Seattle Museum of Art, Seattle, DC,
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN