A peek into Elena del Rivero‘s studio in the heart of the East Village reveals walls adorned with her latest works of art and several unfinished pieces, each a testament to his artistic prowess.
Valencian artist Elena Del Rivero was kind enough to invite us into her studio in the heart of the East Village , share with us their latest work and pamper ourselves with a cup of tea. As we sat and drank, we talked about the latest art trends in New York, her life in the city, and her relationship with Spain. Each turn of the conversation shedding new light on the vicissitudes of her singular artistic career.
Elena’s visit was not only an opportunity for us to catch up on the latest happenings in the art world, but also to learn about her ongoing projects. Before leaving the studio, Del Rivero shared with us his latest project, “Home Address,” a tribute to the suffragette movement that was presented the next day at New York City Hall for International Women’s Day.
On January 12 at 7 pm Imma Prieto, director of Es Baluard, and Mateo Feijoo, curator of the El Archivo del Polvo project, will present LOVE SONG at Galeria SENDA
The exhibition is dedicated to the life and work of Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris (02.10.197 Long Beach CA.- 01.29.2013 Brooklyn, NY) whose music can be heard during the course of the exhibition courtesy of the artist’s legacy – with our thanks.
Del Rivero will present a selection of works taken from various projects carried out throughout his career that culminate in the concept of admiration for life and experience – leitmotiv and essence of the artist’s inspiration.
In the context of the last stage of the ”Dust Archive” (2001-2021), Love Song will include the 30 collages-assemblages that were presented in Es Baluard, Palma de Mallorca, built with pieces of painting rescued from his study of works destroyed during the 9/11 attack.
From “Letters from Home”, where the artist delves into the domestic with the kitchen table as a banner, the artist proposes a conceptual experience with kitchen towels-paintings from different years.
Elena also incorporates works related to the “Letters to the Mother” , another of her great projects since 1991, with elements that she has used constantly throughout her career such as needles, painting, embroidery and fabrics.
The exhibition is completed with ”Fragments of my Ruin”, a work in which all his ethical and aesthetic concerns of recent years come together in a large installation.
The artist Elena Del Rivero for Metal Magazine
With a photograph of Butch walking through the East Village in New York and taken by Elena in 2008, the exhibition will close along with others taken during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the Soho neighborhood. The images will accompany us throughout the visit as a reflection on the historical, the collective and the personal in the context of an immediate present.
Elena del Rivero has lived and worked in New York, USA, since 1991. She has had individual exhibitions at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid); New Museum (New York), Corcoran Gallery of Art Washington D.C.); International Center of Photography (New York); The Drawing Center (New York); or the Patio Herreriano Museum in Valladolid, among others.
‘I normally start my day drawing,’ says Anthony Goicolea at his studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. ‘Eventually, one of those drawings will tell a story, then it becomes a painting.’
The New York based artist, first-generation Cuban-American, invited us to his luminous studio a Sunday afternoon in New York City.
Making use of a variety of media, Goicolea explores topics ranging from particular history and identity, through cultural tradition and heritage, to alienation and displacement.
His diverse oeuvre encompasses digitally manipulated self-portraits, landscapes, narrative tableaux executed in a variety of media, including black-and-white and color photography, sculpture & video installations, and multi-layered drawings on Mylar.
As I walk in, I am immediately captivated by the atmosphere of the studio. In the heart of Brooklyn, illuminated by a radiant mid-afternoon sun, we are greeted by some of Goicolea’s most recent pieces displayed around the space. All of them dialogue with one another creating at first an aura of contemplation and after a few minutes, of debate.
Goicolea at the studio, behind him: ‘Vigil, 2021’
The artist showing one of his recent projects
Anthony moves comfortably around the room picking out different paintings and carrying them from one place to another to get a better view. His active and energetic spirit gracefully guides us around the studio, showing us his latest creations and allowing us to enter his most personal creative space.
In ‘Crossing, 2021’, an oil on linen from 2020, four visible figures stand in front of an inflatable boat full of old bicycles, two other figures stand behind merging with the background.
Goicolea holding ‘Vigil, 2021’
The artists points at one of his recent works: ‘Crossing, 2020’
As an unresting curious artist, he’s always looking for innovating challenges. I noticed the great variety of sizes of the canvases and discovered that the dimensions weren’t random. Goicolea builds his own canvases to give life to his paintings, facilitating the process of projecting his drawings onto the fabric in a more personal and approachable way.
Goicolea’s pencil drawings on the wall
In the far back: ‘Portrait of A Franciscan Monk Giving A Confessional Reading to Aldo Londi Circa 1962, 2020’
The artist carrying ‘Fountain, 2021’
In past series, many of the images were devoid of humans. In those works, primitive lean-tos and crudely constructed shanties coexist in an uneasy union with the technological vestiges of an industrialized society. Suggesting a world on the brink of obsolescence, these chilling images further cement the pervasive undercurrent of human alienation—from one another as well as the natural environment—that can be traced throughout the artist’s work.
‘Odalisque with Kickstand, 2021′
However, it seems like Goicolea has officially entered –or, revisited– a phase in which his own personal history becomes the root of his inspiration by, once again, exploring his roots and family heritage with a different technical perspective.
These poignant, almost cinematic images are characterized by a fervent search for ancestral & social connections to his homeland: Cuba— revealing nostalgia for a past that the artist didn’t experience & a sense of cultural dislocation and estrangement.
‘Vigil, 2021’
Anthony posing for Galeria SENDA during our Studio Visit
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