40 Days and 40 Nights
Chris Rivas
September 5th - October 18th
Monte Vista Projects is pleased to announce 40 Days and 40 Nights, a solo exhibition of works from artist Chris Rivas. The exhibition will be held from Sept 5 - October 18th and will be available by appointment.
The title 40 Days and 40 Nights is a phrase used by many groups to refer to a long amount of time. In this case it signifies the covid-19 pandemic and the quarantine that seems to have no end. As such, the exhibition examines the home as a space used to contemplate current social political issues and reflect on our constant desire to preserve dissipating cultures. As globalism and technology accelerate art consumption across our world’s borders, cultures are forced to adapt or die.
Influenced by the history of painting and cultural diaspora, Rivas explores what it means to feel connected to others across cultural aesthetics, physical space, and time. The works in the show collectively present remnants of a domestic space. Derived from multiple cultures, the works in the show explore the connection between exoticized objects and personal narrative. In the past what seemed voyeuristic has become the new norm. What stories will emerge from the covid-19 era, and who will have the privilege to tell them?
Chris Rivas is a Los Angeles born artist who received his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and his MFA from Montclair State University. His work revolves around an investigation of cultural diaspora, emotional reactivity, and hybridity. He uses various materials to investigate ambiguity and dualities while continuing to depict the intersectionality experienced in his everyday life.