UNFOLDING
2019
The Yard — Columbus Circle, NYC. Curator: Sarah Crown
Installation views
UNFOLDING
Text by: Sarah Crown
Rivnay, son of an Entomologist, is inspired by the fascinating worlds that unfold under the microscope and that appear in scientific illustrations where existence is represented in its smallest elements. As an observer of both the scientific and artistic realms, Rivnay developed a visual language that interprets the micro and macro levels of our world. In his works, he intuitively explores the many different constituents of existence, from the smallest particles to bigger elements. Empirical and spiritual research unite in these large and powerful canvases representing a playground for primordial shapes and structures where the observer is invited to delve into an unknown yet familiar realm of creation, origination and manifestation.
Rivnay doesn’t try to tell a specific story but he unfolds visually the magical underlying structures of our world. His paintings are born out of a “dissociation of the mind from reason or rationality”[1]. He paints with spontaneity and following internal impulses, driven by his instincts and primordial wisdom, bridging the two worlds of conscious and subconscious and intuitively showing that all elements of the living realm are made of the same miraculous matter.
During the creative process, Rivnay elaborates on a first vague and subconscious idea of an image. He delves into a dialog between materials, internal stimuli and external input and absorbs this energy. The horizontal painting surface, lying on a floor or a table, becomes a leading force of his movements which translate his perceptions into the creation of the physical work. The infinite forms and shapes are born out of the use of a variety of different tools, not only the paint brush. In the resulting works, on canvas and on paper, sharp elements stand out in front of energy loaded monochrome backgrounds ‘aesthetically relating to works by Juan Miró, Mario Merz, and Jean Arp’[2]. Different painting techniques infuse the sensation of a well-choreographed group of different dancers where each one has its very own character and role, yet, they complete each other to a perfect play.
[1] Nogah Davidson, ‘How Things Work 2018’ , 2018, Shony Rivnay's solo exhibition at Nulubaz Cooperative Art Space, Tel Aviv, IL
[2] Naomi Lev, ‘The Observer’, 2018 , New York, NY