About the Artist
LISA KOVVURI
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
"I'm drawn to the figure and portraits because there is something in them that communicates on a gut level and in a very complex way. We human beings interact subconsciously through the way we're animated. We read expression, movement, and body language intuitively. This makes the human figure a highly effective tool for visual communication. It speaks on a level beyond what other subjects are capable of.
I see a portrait more as a mirror than a simple likeness of someone. It reflects something of each one of us. Painting them allows me the joy of using the language of paint to explore the wonder, truth, and beauty of our shared human experience, and to translate it into something of lasting substance. It's a thrilling challenge to search for and find that poetry within the paint that will transcend the picture on the canvas and convey something meaningful."
BIOGRAPHY
Lisa Kovvuri is an American figurative painter working in Southern New Hampshire. Her work uses the genre of portraiture to explore the psychology and emotions we live and move through every day, with a goal of creating a compelling, personal, and intimate experience, both visually and emotionally, with the human presence in her paintings.
Born in Oakland, CA and raised on Cape Cod, MA, she received a BFA in printmaking from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1991. When her interest later turned to oil painting, she sought additional training from highly skilled master artists in the fields of realism, figurative and portrait painting. Particularly formative for her artistic development were an intensive painting course with Nelson Shanks at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia, PA, and a four-and-a-half-year term of study with ARC Master Mary Minifie at Ingbretson Studios in Manchester, NH where she learned the traditional methods of the Boston School.
Lisa's commissioned works can be found in the collections of numerous clients, private and corporate, across New England and the Western US coast. Her 2017 solo exhibition, The Portrait Experience was held at the Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell, MA. She was a resident studio artist at the museum from 2014 to 2019 where she also taught drawing, painting, and printmaking classes in the museum’s Youth Summer Art Program.
The recipient of several national awards, Lisa’s work has been featured in American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, Southwest Art, and Artscope Magazines, the Portrait Society of America’s quarterly journal The Art of the Portrait, The Art Renewal Center’s catalogue International Realism, and has been exhibited in exhibitions and competitions nationwide. She is a member of Oil Painters of America, The National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society and Allied Artists of America, and is a Signature Member of The Portrait Society of America.
Awards and Recognition
2024 Finalist, Art Renewal Center 17th International Salon Competition
2024 Best Realism Award, The National Oil and Acrylic Society 34th Best of America Exhibition
2024 Outstanding Pastel Award, Bold Brush Painting Competition, May
2023 Finalist, Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition, non-commission category
2023 Best of Show, The National oil and Acrylic Society 33rd Best of America Exhibition
2022 10th place, Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition, commissioned category
2022 Finalist, Art Renewal Center 16th International Salon Competition
2022 Audience Choice Award, Guild of Boston Artists New England Regional Juried Exhibition
2021 Second Place, Bold Brush Painting Competition, August
2020 Finalist, Art Renewal Center 15th International Salon Competition
2020 Tenth Place, Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition, non-commission category
2020 Select 50 Recognition, Portrait Society of America International Portrait Competition
2020 Finalist, Bold Brush Painting Competition, February
2019 Finalist, Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition, non-commission category
2019 Whistler Award, Whistler House Museum of Art Fall/Winter Juried Members Exhibition
2019 Ridgewood Art Institute Award, Salmagundi Club 41st Annual Non-Member Exhibition
2017 Finalist, Bold Brush Painting Competition, October
2014 Honorable Mention, Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition, non-commission
2014 Second Place, Bold Brush Painting Competition, February
2011 Finalist, Bold Brush Painting Competition, February
2004 Merit Award, Bold Expressions, Northern California Arts, Inc. Open International Exhibition
2004 Excellence in Pastel, A Celebration of Spirit, New Artworks Gallery, Fair Oaks, CA
2004 Second Place, Oil Painting Category, Nouvelle Images, California Arts League
2004 Honorable Mention, Pastel Category, Nouvelle Images, California Arts League
2003 Finalist, Still Life Category, Artist’s Magazine 20th Annual Art Competition
2003 Judges Choice Award, Inner Views, Northern California Arts, Inc. Members Juried Exhibition
2003 Honorable Mention, Inner Views, Northern California Arts, Inc. Members Juried Exhibition
2003 Certificate of Recognition, Portrait Society of America International Portrait Competition
2002 First Place, Inner Views, Northern California Arts, Inc. Members Juried Exhibition
2001 Second Place, West Coast Society of Portrait Artists Members Invitational
2001 Best of Show, Inner Views, Northern California Arts, Inc. Members Juried Exhibition
2001 Judges Recognition Merit Award, Preserving Our Heritage VI, West Coast Society of Portrait Artists
2000 Honorable Mention, Preserving Our Heritage V, West Coast Society of Portrait Artists
2000 Award of Merit, Preserving Our Heritage V, West Coast Society of Portrait Artists
2000 Best of Show, Colors of the Millennium, New Artworks Gallery, Fair Oaks, CA
2000 Honorable Mention, Colors of the Millennium, New Artworks Gallery, Fair Oaks, CA
Solo and Two Person Exhibitions
2017 Lisa Kovvuri, The Portrait Experience, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA
2005 Unfolding, Lisa Kovvuri and Mary Therese Kobashigawa, New Artworks Gallery, Fair Oaks, CA
2002 Portraits by Lisa Kovvuri, Sacramento Ballet, Sacramento, CA
Selected Group and Juried Exhibitions
2025 Artists in Residence 1900-2025, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA
2024 National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society 34th Best of America National Exhibition, Beverly McNeil Gallery, Birmingham, AL
2024 Allied Artists of America 2024 Associate Online Exhibition
2023 Lore Degenstein Gallery 14th Annual Figurative Art Exhibition, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA
2023 Allied Artists of America 110th Annual online Exhibition
2023 National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society 33rd Best Of America National Exhibition, The Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA
2022 National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society Fall International Online Juried Exhibition
2022 2022 New England Regional Juried Exhibition, Guild of Boston Artists, Boston, MA
2022 2022 New York Figurative Show, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2021 Oil Painters of America 2021 Salon Show, Quinlan Visual Arts Center, Gainesville, GA
2020 Oil Painters of America 2020 Eastern Regional Exhibition, Reinert Fine Art, Charleston, SC
2020 Oil Painters of America 29th Annual National Exhibition, RS Hanna Gallery, Fredericksburg, TX
2020 Figuratively Speaking 2020, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2019 National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society Fall International Online Juried Exhibition
2019 Whistler House Museum of Art Fall/Winter Juried Members Exhibition, Lowell, MA
2019 41st Annual Juried Non-Member Painting and Sculpture, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2019 Summer 2019 Portraiture Exhibition, 100 Market Gallery, Portsmouth, NH
2019 National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society Best of America Small Painting Juried Exhibition, RS Hanna Gallery, Fredericksburg, TX
2018 Lowell Art Association Juried Members Exhibition, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA
2018 Oil Painters of America 27th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Steamboat Art Museum, Steamboat Springs, CO
2017 Lowell Art Association Juried Members Exhibition, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA
2016 Lowell Art Association Juried Members Exhibition, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA
2016 Artists of Lowell, Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
2016 Still Life Invitational, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA
2016 Kingdom Animalia, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA
2015 Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Exhibition, Eckert & Ross Fine Art, Indianapolis, IN
2015 Lowell Art Association Juried Members Exhibition, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA
2014 Lowell Art Association Juried Members Exhibition, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA
2014 Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2013 Oil Painters of America Juried Salon Show, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey, MI
2012 Oil Painters of America 21st Annual National Exhibition, Evergreen Fine Art Gallery, Evergreen, CO
2011 Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Exhibition, Addison Gallery, Orleans, MA
2009 32nd Annual Non-Member Painting and Sculpture Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2005 Juried Auction and Preview, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
2005 New Beginnings, New Artworks Gallery, Fair Oaks, CA
2004 Bold Expressions, Northern California Arts, Inc., Open International, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA
2004 A Celebration of Spirit, New Artworks Gallery, Fair Oaks, CA
2004 Nouvelle Images, California Arts League 21st Annual Open Exhibition, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA
2003 Nouvelle Images, California Arts League 20th Annual Open Exhibition, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA
2003 Inner Views, Northern California Arts, Inc., Annual Members Juried Exhibition, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA
2002 Inner Views, Northern California Arts, Inc., Annual Members Juried Exhibition, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA
2001 Bold Expressions, Northern California Arts, Inc., Annual Open International Exhibition, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA
2001 16th Annual Art Competition, Bosque Conservatory, Clifton, TX
2001 Members Invitational Exhibition, West Coast Society of Portrait Artists, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA
2001 South Cobb Arts Alliance 14th Annual National Exhibition, Mable House Cultural Center, Mableton, GA
2001 Inner Views, Northern California Arts, Inc., Annual Members Juried Exhibition, Sacramento Fine Arts, Center, Carmichael, CA
2001 Preserving Our Heritage VI, West Coast Society of Portrait Artists National, The Bateson Building, Sacramento, CA
2001 Guest Artist Invitational Exhibition, New Artworks Gallery, Fair Oaks, CA
2000 California Watercolor Association 32nd Annual National Exhibition, Academy of Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2000 Preserving Our Heritage V, West Coast Society of Portraits Artists, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA
2000 Colors of The Millennium, Open Juried Exhibition, New Artworks Gallery, Fair Oaks, CA
1996 Art League of Long Island 41st Annual Long Island Art Exhibition, Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY
Publications
2024 Fine Art Connoisseur, Max Gillies, Today’s Masters: Go Figure, 21.no.6 (December): 050
2024 American Art Collector, Artist Focus: Lisa Kovvuri, no.226 (August): 108
2023 The New York Optimist (online magazine) Arts Feature: Lisa Kovvuri
2023 Art Renewal Center, International Realism, 16th International ARC Salon: 156, 158.
2022 American Art Collector, John O'hearn, Collector's Focus, Figurative Art: Profound Complexities, no.206 (December): 67
2021 Southwest Art, ARC Salon Exhibition preview, 51, no.1 (June/July): 51.
2021 Fine Art Views (E-newsletter) Featured Artist, (July)
2021 Art Renewal Center, International Realism, 15th International ARC Salon: 122, 141.
2020 Fine Art Connoisseur, Oil Painters of America 29th National Juried Exhibition preview, 17.no.5 (September/October): 36.
2020 Fine Art Today (E-newsletter), Featured Artwork, (September 2)
2020 Alyson Stanfield, Instagram Live interview, (July, 15)
2020 Fine Art Today (E-newsletter), Featured Artwork (April 15)
2020 Fine Art Today (E-newsletter), Featured Artwork (February 5)
2020 Realism Today, E-newsletter Feature (February)
2020 ArtScope, Flavia Cigliano, Well Worth Revisiting; Familiar Landmarks and Styles at Whistler House, 14, no.6 (January/February): 17, 19.
2018 Fine Art Connoisseur, 16, no.5 (September/October): 149
2019 Fine Art Today, (E-newsletter), Featured Artwork (June 5)
2019 Fine Art Today, (E-newsletter), Featured Artwork (May 1)
2019 Fine Art Connoisseur, 16, no.1 (January/February): 130.
2018 Fine Art Connoisseur, 15, no.3 (May/June): 141.
2018 Fine Art Connoisseur, 15, no.1 (January, February): 125.
2017 Southwest Art, Mackenzie McCreary, Painting the Figure; Meet Six Artists Who Paint People 47, no.6 (November): 89
2017 Art Biz Blog, Podcast, Portrait Project and Museum Exhibition with Lisa Kovvuri, interview with Alyson Standfield, (October 19)
2017 American Art Collector, John O’Hern, Collector’s Focus: Portraits, The Essence of Being, no.142 (August): 72
2017 ArtScope, 12, no.4 (September/October): 39.
2016 American Art Collector, Collecting Portrait Art, no.130 (August) 58, 60, 63
2013 The Art Edge, Brian Sherwin, Art Talk on The Edge; Interview with Artist Lisa Kovvuri, (October 29, 9:45:32AM)
2013 American Art Collector, Small Scale Masterpieces, Collecting Miniatures & Small Works, no.97 (November): 94, 105.
2013 Fine Art Views, Featured Artist, (May)
2012 American Art Collector, Masterful Oils, Oil Painters of America 21st National Juried Exhibition preview, no.80 (June): 162.
2012 Fine Art Connoisseur, Oil Painters of America 21st National Juried Exhibition preview, 9, no.3 (May/June): 47.
2011 American Art Collector, Raising The Bar, Oil Painters of America 2011 Eastern Regional Exhibition preview, no.71, (September): 125, 126, 128
2011 The Cape Codder, Stephanie Foster, Addison Gallery Hosts Oil Painters of America, (feature photo), (September 16): 52.
2004 The Art of The Portrait, Dawn Whitelaw, Lisa Kovvuri, Following the Dream, Portrait Society of America Journal, Member Spotlight, VI no. 23 (First Quarter).
2001 Sacramento Magazine, Mind, Body, Spirit in Portrait, exhibition preview, featured artwork (March): 26.
2000 Gold River Review, Lisa Kovvuri, feature article, no.61 (Winter); cover, 7, 8.
"Lisa Kovvuri's portrait paintings are a joy to view....she establishes mood with ease. Her commissioned portraits no doubt offer a sense of self-reflection to the subject and loved ones - but they also reach out to strangers....urging viewers to create stories surrounding these personalities." -Brian Sherwin, Art critic
"Lisa is definitely a portrait artist to watch" -Fine Art Views, Staff Picks, July, 2015
