“I’ve always been in tune with my roots it’s something that’s very important in my work. Being in tune with my family, and asking questions about their journey coming here: how was it living there, what’s the difference, foods, different slang, what would they do over there, even political parties. ”
LatchKey Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in Untitled Art Miami, 2020 with Las Voces Inside of Me, a solo presentation of new paintings by John Rivas. The OVR can be viewed on Untitled Art Fair’s online platform starting with a VIP presentation on December 2, and will run through December 6. A special installation of the works will be on view by appointment at LatchKey Gallery, NYC.
A son of Salvadorian immigrants, the New Jersey born John Rivas creates mixed media paintings that engage in themes of memory, community, history, home, and belonging. Utilizing an array of repurposed materials, Rivas’ layered canvases move beyond the traditional two-dimensional surface with an approach unique to the artist.
Rivas’ paintings are filled with personal symbolism, objects, text and themes that discuss and celebrate the Latinx concept of family and community. Alana Hernandez, curatorial fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, describes Rivas’ work as being presented with “a gestural simplicity that unveils surprising details upon further inspection. Beginning with family photo albums, Rivas often works directly with images, outlining his subject's likeness and features with graphite or chalk. He then collages and layers his canvas with contrasting textures, including stitching and weaving directly on the surface of his work. Rivas pays special attention to his subject's skin—applying a range of browns that together indicate the diversity within Latinx communities. Gritty in texture, his quick, painterly strokes render incomplete figures and partial gestures. He often incorporates half-phrases of language, quickly scribbled in English or Spanish. The frenzied shift between English and Spanish, between complete and incomplete, underscores the artist's constant state of occupying the in-between”.
Throughout the exhibition the utilization of repurposed items such as beans and corn, a staple and universal equalizer found in every Salvadorian kitchen bridge Rivas’ paintings to the importance of the familial space of the kitchen: a shared place for gathering. In a unique, site specific installation for Untitled, Rivas covers the NYC gallery floor with dirt and positions a comal (a smooth flat griddle) with tortillas, and a pozo (well) with water. The installation is referential to the oral histories passed to the artist about his family’s past life in El Salvador – the way they lived and communed, and the importance of food and shared meals to the shaping of community and the dissemination of histories and memories.
Rivas positions himself as artist and observant storyteller, documenting and sharing the social histories of his family and community through his unique approach. This new body of work furthers his artistic practice in exploring and examining the socioeconomic, racial and cultural boundaries of immigrant lives, and the stories of his family.
A limited-edition catalogue will accompany the exhibition with an essay by Alana Hernandez and an interview with Omar Lopez. True to Rivas’ mission in being “Para la gente,” each editioned catalogue features an original sketch by the artist and serves as an accessible introduction to art collecting for art enthusiasts of all backgrounds.
The Artist Reception will take place on December 5, 2020 from 1-6pm, by appt .
