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About the Exhibition
Riva Sweetrocket creates immaculately executed works on paper. Her work can be characterized by its indulgences in rich, vivid color, surreal compositions of everyday objects and allegorical narratives. The surfaces of her paintings are luscious and realistic. They engage viewers and almost physically lure them into the work. The size of the pieces allow the viewer to experience them like architecture – being completely surrounded by its colors and ideas.
There are some striking elements in the works selected for this exhibition. Each depicts a pair of hands, a symbol of human individuality and expression, in a different environment. The relationship between those hands and that environment creates the forum for a discourse on various topics—including redemption, social evolution and independence.
In "Handle With Care," viewers will see a new technical component in Sweetrocket's work—she has used grayscale extensively as a formal component to her work. It serves as a mechanism that both separates the foreground from the background, and makes the two cohere.
Caitlin Green
February 2008
"As I go through life I’m often struck by the recklessness with which people sometimes handle situations. From small acts of thoughtlessness such as not picking up after one’s dog or tossing a cigarette butt out a car window, all the way up to bombing someone we don’t even know. What would happen if the smallest decision were handled with even just a little more care, just a little more forethought?
"Rather than answering these questions, this series of paintings attempts only to pose them. Indulgence, forgiveness, secrecy, creation, aggression and personal intimacy are some of the themes in this work. Although hands have a personality of their own, because there are no faces in these paintings they represent a more general and anonymous human presence, one that could be you, me or someone we know. My hope is that they will compel viewers to reflect more deeply on their own experience and influence on the world."
Riva Sweetrocket
March 2008
