John Rivas's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles opens at François Ghebaly
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, November 23, 2024


John Rivas's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles opens at François Ghebaly
John Rivas, El Rey de La Ciudad, 2023. Acrylic, oil pastel, markers, graphite, crayons, stucco medium on canvas, 48 x 48 inches (122 x 122 cm.)



LOS ANGELES, CA.- Francois Ghebaly is presenting John Rivas’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, Que Haces Vos? Yo Pinto. The exhibition remains on view at the gallery’s Downtown Los Angeles location through February 17.

John Rivas creates images deeply woven with his cultural identity as a first generation Salvadoran American. Navigating the hybrid cultural context of his rootedness in El Salvador and his place within contemporary American painting, Rivas’s canvases use multiple painting languages, symbolically loaded materials, and a raw, genuine approach to figuration. Rivas makes visible the process of creation, layering materials as diverse as stucco, heirlooms, embroidery, gold leaf, beans, and glass. El Rey de La Ciudad (2023) is emblematic—the portrait of Rivas’s father, a construction worker, shows him on a suspended scaffolding many stories over the city streets, posing and looking proudly at the viewer. The work includes traditional media like acrylic, oil pastel and graphite, alongside stucco in reference to his father’s tradecraft.

This material resourcefulness is the cornerstone of Rivas's creative process. His early experimentation with repurposed materials was born out of necessity, as he transformed construction scraps from his father's worksites into expressive portraits of the people around him. This practice evolved to include fabrics from thrift stores and streets, as well as stitching—a skill honed during the pandemic and inspired by the textile traditions of El Salvador and the craft of his grandmothers. This redemptive use of materials is not just an artistic choice but an homage to his heritage and a celebration of sustainable creativity.

Rivas derives his imagery from the people around him. Some are family photos, while some are pictures taken by Rivas of his family members who volunteer to be the subjects of his work, such as El Primo (2023), a view of the artist’s cousin. Others are images that celebrate Salvadoran culture, either in El Salvador or in the diaspora; Me da una Minuta por favor (2023), for example, depicts a woman serving minutas, a Salvadoran shaved ice. “I want to celebrate our culture, our food, our music, the way we dress, how we hustle, how we work,” Rivas noted. “I’m trying to push the essence of how I grew up and the people and ways of life around me.” Throughout the exhibition, Rivas translates between multiple registers, striking a balance between his American milieu and his Salvadoran heritage and bridging disparate worlds.

John Rivas (b. 1997, Newark, New Jersey) earned his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and holds an MFA from Columbia University. He has been included in exhibitions at El Museo Del Barrio, New York; Queens Museum, Queens; Ross + Kramer Gallery, New York; Anthony Gallery, Chicago; and UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles. His work is held in the public collection of the Perez Art Museum, Miami. Que Haces Vos? Yo Pinto is his first solo exhibition in Los Angeles. He lives and works in Newark, New Jersey.










Today's News

January 16, 2024

The Crochet Coral Reef keeps spawning, hyperbolically

Marian Goodman opens an exhibition of early works by Robert Smithson

Franco-Iranian artist Golnaz Payani opens exhibition at Praz-Delavallade Projects

Paints progress - An exhibition series opens at Messums London and Messums West

John Rivas's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles opens at François Ghebaly

Intertwined, tangled memories, experiences and fantasies comprise work of Belgian sculptor Eric Croes

'Mike Henderson & William T. Wiley: Not Too Near, Not Too Far' now on view at MASSIMODECARLO

The Drawing Room's first exhibition of 2024 centers on Hector Leonardi's recent work 'Orchestrating Color'

Relationship between materials and structures studied in 'In the Space between Something and Nothing'

'1924 – 2024' is part of a series of exhibitions organized to mark centenary of Roger–Edgar Gillet

Delhi-based artist Rohini Devasher's first U.S. solo exhibition opens today

Theaster Gates' Rebuild Foundation presenting inaugural project 'We Gotta Get Back to the Crib'

Joyce Randolph, last of the 'Honeymooners,' dies at 99

Writing is doomed to fail. That's why Hisham Matar loves it.

As development alters Greek Islands' nature and culture, locals push back

Besieged influencer Chiara Ferragni is the talk of Milan Fashion Week

Review: A dance duo's committed high jinks interruptus

For this performance, it's rise and shine

Malian artist Abdoulaye Konaté to feature nine new textile works at Lévy Gorvy

Second solo exhibition of the American artist Pae White on view in Madrid

Lightning speed of contemporary life with the slowness of the eighteenth century in 'Slowness'

The Essential Guide to Profit Distribution Strategies in Partnerships




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Houston Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง
Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful