Elena del Rivero and Linn Meyers: Rhapsody

The exhibition will feature new paintings by del Rivero and a large-scale wall drawing by Meyers.

In this exhibition, affinities between the two artists will be explored, highlighting sensibilities in spite of the dramatic difference in scale and form. While both artists are working delicately with their materials, more evident is a strong underlying structure in each. In her recent series of paintings, del Rivero has chosen a grisaille approach to color and light; Meyers is equally selective when deciding the tone and weight of a particular wall drawing, based in part on her response to existing light and architecture. A specific refinement of gesture can be found in all the works, whether it describes the delicate flow of closely drawn pencil lines or the hair-like softness of exposed threads. A rhythm is produced, both separately and in concert.

Elena del Rivero was born in Valencia, Spain and has been exhibiting internationally since 1991. Her practice consists of drawing and painting, but has also included photography, performance, and video. She draws inspiration from experience and the every day life; what is at hand. She uses sewing, mending and the written word as alternative tools for drawing. Fake pearls and sequins have been a leitmotif since the late 80’s, as have been calligraphy and gilding with the book form being the backbone for some of her projects. Her work develops slowly building visual stories that she completes with carefully chosen titles that favor double entendres. She has always been interested in transforming decay and in reusing her destroyed works that she puts back together as in a metaphor for healing.

Exhibitions include solo shows at the Reina Sofia, Madrid, The Drawing Center, New York, Centro Cultural Fundacio “la Caixa”, Lleida, The Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C., and The New Museum, New York, as well as group exhibitions at SF MoMA, San Francisco, the Whitney Museum, New York, P.S.1/MoMA, New York, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., among many others.

Linn Meyers was born in Washington, D.C. and has been exhibiting since 1992. Her practice has expanded from finely drawn works on mylar to room-sized site-specific wall drawings. The performative nature of her process has been likened to the work of Jackson Pollock, while the existence of underlying structures, or frameworks, clearly recognizes the work of Sol LeWitt. Perhaps more than these affinities, though, it is the poetic resonance of Agnes Martin that the viewer is initially struck by when viewing Meyers’ works. The 10’x40’ wall drawing that Meyers has created for this exhibition is evidence of her dedication to the practice. This dedication, taken in combination with the impermanence of her wall drawing, speaks to the artist’s concern for the fleeting moment.

Meyers has had solo exhibitions at The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles and The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., and has been included in group exhibitions at the Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC, The Smithsonian Museum of American Art, The Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C, the Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA., among many others.