In her paintings, Iris Kufert-Rivo examines the ways in which we understand the world simultaneously through intellectual and emotional. Through the repetitive use of rectilinear forms and the limited toolset of a straight edge, tape, and palette knife, Kufert-Rivo open up a world of play in the color space. There is order in the shape and technique and freedom in the interplay of color. Elegant and nuanced, the paintings range from deep and moody to jewel-like in their tones. The paintings are geometric without being rigid – they allow the hand of the artist to show through in their minute imperfections.
Iris Kufert-Rivo’s paintings are a metaphor for our conflicting times. Humanity goes through social, political, personal, and economic upheavals – these complexities are experienced, processed, and then integrated into our lives as we move forward. In her paintings, Kufert-Rivo is exploring the ways in which our minds organize and integrate experiences into our understanding of the world. We are the sum of our experiences just as these paintings are the coalescence of accumulated forms and color choices.
Inspired by the physical and emotional world that surrounds her, Kufert-Rivo uses her unique visual vocabulary to capture the precarious yet eternal way in which humanity perseveres through adversity.
IRIS KUFERT-RIVO received her Bachelor of Science from Skidmore College and MFA from Bard College, Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts and has been exhibiting widely throughout the United States including at Waterhouse and Dodd (NYC/London), The Painting Center (NYC), Hidell Brooks Gallery (Charlotte, NC), Billis Williams Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Dune (NYC), One West End Gallery (NYC), Village One Gallery (NYC), Red Dot Fair at Miami Art Week (Miami, FL), San Francisco Art Fair, Atlanta Art Fair, Art Miami, Palm Beach Art Fair, Newell Gallery (NYC), and The Morris Museum (Morristown, NJ), among others. She has curated exhibitions at the Henry Street Settlement/Abrons Art Center in New York and the 125 First Street Gallery in New Jersey, and has exhibited at the Mana Contemporary and had a solo exhibition at the Jersey City Museum. She lives and works in Jersey City, NJ.
