Lissa Rivera

Lissa Rivera (born 1984) is an American artist and curator whose work examines gender identity, sexuality, and the construction of femininity through staged portraiture. Her series Beautiful Boy, portraits of her genderqueer partner in period dress and interiors, has been widely exhibited and won the Magnum Photography Award for Portraiture.

As Associate Curator at the Museum of Sex, Rivera organized the first U.S. museum survey of Surrealist Leonor Fini and the museum's first bilingual exhibition. Rivera received her BFA from the Art Institute of Boston Kennedy Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,

Curation Rivera served as Associate Curator at the Museum of Sex in New York. She curated Canon: Juan José Barboza-Gubo & Andrew Mroczek (2017–2018), the museum's first bilingual exhibition, designed to reach New York's Spanish-speaking audience. In 2018, she curated Leonor Fini: Theatre of Desire, the first U.S. museum survey of the Surrealist artist's work, including paintings, film, furniture, costume, and set designs.

Filmmaking In 2024, Rivera served as producer on the HBO documentary series Chimp Crazy. The series was nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Picture Editing.

Personal life Rivera's partner is BJ Lillis, who is genderqueer and has been the subject of Rivera's photographic work. 2018: Beautiful Boy, Millbrook School, Millbrook, New York 2019: Transamerica/n: Gender, Identity, Appearance Today, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas 2019: American Truth, SVA Chelsea Gallery, New York 2019: Photography After Stonewall, Soho Photo Gallery, New York

Recognition 2008: National Museum of Women in Arts, "Woman to Watch" 2016: Griffin Museum Peter Urban Legacy Award 2016: Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Award 2017: D&AD Next Photographer Shortlist 2017: Magnum Photography Awards, Winner, Portrait Category