Luisa Rivera is a figurative painter and illustrator, with a strong focus on narrative images. A majority of her work is done with water-based paints, such as acrylic, watercolor, gouache and ink. Usually, she uses paper as a substrate, but also employs other materials such as cardboard and wood, depending on the project. Paper cutting has also become a useful tool that has allowed her to explore other ways of composing an image. Recently, Rivera has also combined paint, paper-cutting, and wheat paste to create large-scale works. 

The main focus of Luisa’s work is nature and our relationship with it throughout history. She is interested in our primal connection to all natural things, and how humanity has broken this link over the past decades. Through painting, she suggests to the viewer reflective and metaphoric passages to track these lost connections with nature. In order to achieve this holistic perception, Rivera’s work also addresses other aspects of our existence that we are neglecting such as the human body, instinct, spirituality, among others. For this reason, she makes use of folk culture, stories, and mythologies (either existent or created by myself) to create narratives. 

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Be sure to join us on Friday May 15th at Public Functionary to see more of Luisa’s work along with the other 2015 graduates

MFA Thesis Exhibition and Reception

For more on Rivera: http://www.luisarivera.cl/