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IRIS KUFERT-RIVO: CAN TRAVEL
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 12th, 5-8pm September 12 - October 24, 2015 |
Phone: 310.838.3685
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tressa Williams Phone: 310.838.3685 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
George Billis Gallery is pleased to present the gallery’s first solo exhibition of work by Iris Kufert-Rivo. The exhibition features the artist’s newest body of abstract paintings on panel and continues through October 24th.
The artist writes of her work: “Much of my work explores questions of place as defined by my personal history. As a first generation American, I grew up immersed in the immigration and exile stories of my immediate and extended family. Having traveled extensively as a child with my parents throughout Europe and Israel, I absorbed the iconography of diverse countries. My childhood homes were always filled with paintings, rugs, china, and pottery from abroad. I spent many hours mesmerized by the patterns and decorations found on these objects. My aesthetic is informed by and infused with these experiences; they manifest in my work in the form of the designs and patterns found in the archeology, objects and textiles of my travels, my environment and my home.
My new body of work analyzes these questions of place and movement through the language of urban graffiti. I have been developing this oil and spray paint on panel series for the past 3 years. The work begins with a primary layer of oil or acrylic paint. I use spray paint to choreograph the many layers of hand-cut stencils, glazing the work with varnish between layers to develop a spatial dimension in the work. I use hand printmaking techniques, as well, whereby I spray the stencils until they are saturated and then they are pressed and sprayed again, in order to complicate and intensify the shapes. A final heavy layer of varnish resins the final product.
This work is itself a journey that transpires during the stenciling, spraying, and painting process. Worlds develop depending on the shapes and placement of the stencils. Layering them creates their own history, one that comes together when the piece gels. In the same way that street muralists can have a rogue and transient aspect to their process, I respond to the connection of travel and decoration to the landscape. My aim in using spray paint is to create a painterly and luscious surface out of this manufactured medium…to coax the feminine elements out of this material.”
Iris Kufert-Rivo received her MFA from Bard College, Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts and has been exhibiting widely across New Jersey and the U.S. She has curated at the Henry Street Settlement/Abrons Art Center in New York and the 125 Frist Street Gallery in New Jersey. Kufert-Rivo has exhibited at the Mana Contemporary and had a solo exhibition at the Jersey City Museum.
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The artist writes of her work: “Much of my work explores questions of place as defined by my personal history. As a first generation American, I grew up immersed in the immigration and exile stories of my immediate and extended family. Having traveled extensively as a child with my parents throughout Europe and Israel, I absorbed the iconography of diverse countries. My childhood homes were always filled with paintings, rugs, china, and pottery from abroad. I spent many hours mesmerized by the patterns and decorations found on these objects. My aesthetic is informed by and infused with these experiences; they manifest in my work in the form of the designs and patterns found in the archeology, objects and textiles of my travels, my environment and my home.
My new body of work analyzes these questions of place and movement through the language of urban graffiti. I have been developing this oil and spray paint on panel series for the past 3 years. The work begins with a primary layer of oil or acrylic paint. I use spray paint to choreograph the many layers of hand-cut stencils, glazing the work with varnish between layers to develop a spatial dimension in the work. I use hand printmaking techniques, as well, whereby I spray the stencils until they are saturated and then they are pressed and sprayed again, in order to complicate and intensify the shapes. A final heavy layer of varnish resins the final product.
This work is itself a journey that transpires during the stenciling, spraying, and painting process. Worlds develop depending on the shapes and placement of the stencils. Layering them creates their own history, one that comes together when the piece gels. In the same way that street muralists can have a rogue and transient aspect to their process, I respond to the connection of travel and decoration to the landscape. My aim in using spray paint is to create a painterly and luscious surface out of this manufactured medium…to coax the feminine elements out of this material.”
Iris Kufert-Rivo received her MFA from Bard College, Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts and has been exhibiting widely across New Jersey and the U.S. She has curated at the Henry Street Settlement/Abrons Art Center in New York and the 125 Frist Street Gallery in New Jersey. Kufert-Rivo has exhibited at the Mana Contemporary and had a solo exhibition at the Jersey City Museum.
Back to Artist Page
George Billis Gallery opened its second location in the Culver City area of Los Angeles in 2004 and marks its 15th year in the Chelsea arts district in New York City. George Billis shows work by both emerging and established artists. For more information please contact the gallery at:
2716 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
T: 310-838-3685
F: 310-838-3438
email: [email protected]
www.georgebillis.com
2716 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
T: 310-838-3685
F: 310-838-3438
email: [email protected]
www.georgebillis.com
