Fiona Rae

Fiona Rae is a distinguished artist and Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy of Arts, appointed in 2011 as one of the first two female professors since the Academy's 1768 founding. She holds an Honorary Fellowship from Goldsmiths (2015) and previously served as Tate Artist Trustee (2005-2009).

Her educational background includes:

• Art foundation course at Croydon College of Art (1983-1984)
• BA Hons in Fine Art at Goldsmiths College (1984-1987)

Rae is a leading figure among the Young British Artists (YBAs) who emerged from Goldsmiths in the late 1980s. Her abstract paintings challenge modern painting conventions through dynamic compositions of fragmented forms, gestural marks, and vibrant color fields. Internationally exhibited at institutions like Nottingham Castle Museum, Galerie Nathalie Obadia (Paris), and PaceWildenstein (New York), her work explores the tension between figuration and abstraction while expanding painting's visual language.

Her major recognitions include:

• Honorary Fellowship from Goldsmiths (2015)

Nominations for the Turner Prize (1991) and Austrian Eliette Von Karajan Prize (1993) further cement her significance in contemporary art. As Professor of Painting, she contributes to art education while maintaining an active studio practice that continues to influence painting discourse globally.