Rafaela de Ascanio studied at Central Saint Martins, The Courtauld Institute of Art and Turps Banana Painting Programme. She has an upcoming solo exhibition at Liliya Art Gallery, and has had two-person exhibitions at Bowes Parris Gallery, Aindrea Contemporary and Lamb Arts, with recent group shows at Lychee One, Cob Gallery and Cynthia Corbett Gallery.

De Ascanio’s paintings and sculptures work in tandem, compiling layers of iconography and exchanging symbols to explore the female experience through differing processes. Her work portrays women in defiant guises, empowering both her and the viewer. Disrupting the patriarchal narratives propagated throughout art history, she revisualises the female as the protagonist and leader, with sexual ownership, and psychological resilience.