BA Queen Never Fights She Removes Her Presence And The Entire Empire Collapses

Julia Rivera

Oil on canvas

31 x 59 inches

2026

About Julia Rivera:
From the Bronx to Florence, Puerto Rico to Paris, Julia Rivera's practice moves fluidly between continents, centuries, and states of mind. Trained in painting, sculpture, and restoration, she creates works where playfulness, surreal imagery, and metaphysical inquiry sit side by side. Clocks, fruit, toy cars, elongated chairs — her carefully chosen objects act like stage props in a poetic theater of memory and meaning.

Born in the Bronx, Rivera built her practice on serious academic ground across several countries: a bachelor's in Art Education from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas in San Juan, an MA in 17th-century painting and restoration from SACI in Florence, sculpture study at the Art League of Manhattan, and additional training through a study trip to the National School of Fine Arts in Paris and coursework at the New York Art Studio. Her work now lives in permanent collections in Texas, Madrid, and Paris.

Her restoration background threads history into the present, while her advocacy for women artists through Art Up the Stairs extends her studio's spirit into community. In this conversation, she reflects on how place, time, and purpose shape a practice that seeks not merely to decorate, but to speak.