Past Exhibitions & Events 2023 & 2022

New Paintings by Toshiko Kitano Groner
at the Octagon

RIVAA Gallery and the Octagon welcome you to an exhibition of new works by artist Toshiko Kitano Groner. Treat yourself to a viewing of her intimate still life paintings. They are rendered with a cool palette that both attracts and soothes the eye while enhancing the floral theme.

"Solstice"

Holiday Group Exhibition

by RIVAA Artists

THE SHOP | beautiful living

Returning for a Second Year

Choose from a selection of high-quality Indian crafts and clothing to beautify your environment.

Plenty of ideas for holiday gifts and we are sure you won’t be able to resist buying something for yourself.

November 8 - 26

RIVAA Gallery

Ioan Popoiu: Next Stop: Venus?

Solo exhibition by Ioan Popoiu
Entry is free, and art is for everyone!

Returning to RIVAA Gallery: Susheel Kurien.

Welcome Susheel and his musical friends. Spend a couple of hours letting them entertain you.

Join us on Sunday, November 19, 2023 at 3PM to enjoy some very cool jazz, view our current exhibition and celebrate Art and Life with us at RIVAA.

Closing reception for the Steven Balogh's solo exhibition.

October 22nd from 5:45-8:00 PM

Book Launch of the newly published collection entitled Immigrant Voices in the Pandemic, edited by Domnica Radulescu and Roxana Cazan. Immigrant Voices in the Pandemic is a powerful collection of stories that showcase how the COVID-19 period has influenced the way we create art. This anthology is a testimony to how art can deliver our common humanity, especially in times of crisis, smuggling stories of immigration, exile, and loneliness into the pandemic frame. The authors gathered in this anthology are diverse, with some established in their respective fields, while others are just beginning their artistic journey. All of their voices come together to compose a choir whose song is audible beyond the pandemic. They are refugees, immigrants, and displaced people, and the entire book has emerged from directly lived experiences and personal stories. The pieces gathered here, whether in poetry, prose, drama, or visual arts, innovate at the aesthetic level, creating new languages and often breaking with traditional forms in all the genres. Immigrant Voices in the Pandemic offers a unique perspective on how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted the artistic expression of refugees, immigrants, and migrants. It is a must-read for those seeking to understand the impact of this moment in our common history on the artistic community and on humanity as a whole.

Come and join us to see "Luminous" at the Octagon Gallery, a solo show by RIVAA Artist and Photographer Piaskowski.

The exhibit runs from July 1 - September 29, 2023 with a reception on Thursday July 6, 2023 from 6-9 pm.

Piaskowski invites you to see her moody Still Lifes and dwell in the quiet moments.

Octagon Gallery - 888 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, NY 10044. Hours 9 am-9pm daily. rivaagallery.org, IG: @rivaagallery, estherpiaskowski.com, IG: @estherpiaskowski

RIVAA Artist Victoria Thorson at theBlanc Gallery

Sculptures in Repurposed Wood & Steel - Angry Oak and Soothing Basswood Engaged with life below the surface, the sculptor calls upon process art to give free reign to human expression. Craggy, jumpy gouges cut by chain saw into oak and smooth, connected meditations in basswood are the spectrum of expression in wood sculptures by Victoria Thorson. Domino Refinery is the artist’s intuitive reaction to a massive oak round with a square hole chewed through by carpenter ants. Her alterations made with a chain saw and chisel are coupled with a steel platform and a 200 year old pine slab that was salvaged from the construction site at Brooklyn’s Domino Sugar Refinery. The 6 foot column Trilogy was a preexisting counter top pulled out of a rehabbed brownstone. It became the basis for three adjacent expressions in basswood, a wood that lent itself to a sliced geometry of planes, smooth refinements, and inserts of color strips. A series of Birch rounds, to be burned for firewood, are attached to found objects in metal and old wood, splattered or burnished with color. Thorson is a New York based artist working in wood and metal. Inspired by the artists Ligia Clark, Sean Scully, and Cecil Skotnes, her basswood and steel columns and her sculptures in oak, walnut and birch are installed in architectural settings including Island House, Roosevelt Island. Also a PhD art historian, she worked at MoMA where she uncovered the fake drawings of Auguste Rodin, and later wrote the definition of Abstract Art for the Grove Encyclopedia of American Art.

Echoes of Home: A Retrospective Exhibition of Li Tang Community

New York, NY - Echoes of Home is a celebration featuring twenty-seven Asian artists from the Li Tang community. Through an array of paintings, photography, sculptures, and cutting-edge digital art, this exhibition unfolds a dialogue exploring the realms of identity, innovation, and unity.

Spanning from the vibrant streets of New York City to the glamorous landscapes of Los Angeles, and from the lively scenes of Atlanta to the indomitable spirit of Detroit, these artists have woven their diverse journeys into a dynamic tapestry of creativity. Together, they have created a collective portrait that captures how the influence of the Asian diaspora shapes the ever-evolving contemporary art world.

Exhibition Dates August 26 - September 8, 2023

Opening Reception August 26, 2023 4 PM-7 PM

Curators Webson Ji and Huixian Dong

Artists Cheng Gong, Zhiheng Gong, Ling Gui, Sun Young Kang, Doi Kim, Hannah Li, Sizhu Li, Xianglong Li, Xingze Li, Jesse Liu, Nix Liu Xin, Weihui Lu, Wendi Men, Paul Mok, Yukiko Nakashima, Megan Nugroho, Ami Park, Han Qin, Ji Shi, Broly Su, Suki Violet Su, Curry Sicong Tian, Jingyi Wang, Tong Wang, Jiannan Wu, Sunny B. Yazdani, Sophie Ruoyu Zhang

Support Fou Gallery, VillageOneArt, Tutu Gallery, A Space, Art America China Project, Yiwei Gallery, Yi Gallery, Li Tang Gallery

🎨 Exhibition Name: Spectrum

🖌️ Artist: RIVAA members

📅 Date: August 5 - 20, 2023

⏰ Reception: August 5th, 6 - 9pm

🏛️ Venue: RIVAA Gallery, 527 Main St, New York, NY, Roosevelt Island

Celebrate PRIDE with RIVAA Gallery

You are cordially invited to an unforgettable event honoring the 90th birthday of the legendary Roy Eaton. Sponsored by RIVAA (Roosevelt Island Visual Art Association), MSTDA (Main Street Theater and Dance Alliance), and RIC (Roosevelt Island Concerts), this evening promises to be a magical celebration of an extraordinary talent.

📅 Date: July 15th

🕖 Time: 7:30 pm

🏛️ Venue: Good Shepherd Church

Octagon Gallery

“From the Island of Art”, an exhibition by longtime RIVAA artist and Island resident, Georgette Sinclair will open on April 1,2023 at the Octagon, 888 Main Street. Her pastels will be on view there until June 30, 2023. Join us at the Opening reception on Sunday, April 2,2023 from 5-8 PM. You will experience familiar Island sights from Georgette’s unique perspective and see them in a new light.

RIVAA Gallery invites you to an evening of poetry.

Come and listen to Ukrainian poet Olena Jennings and Roosevelt Island resident and poet Adela Sinclair as they read selections from their writings. A question and answer period will take place afterwards. Their books will be for sale at the event. Admission is free of charge.

The reading will take place on June 23, 2023 at 6 PM. The address is 527 Main Street, Roosevelt Island.

THE GAP SHOW

June 14 - June 23, 2023

Step into the realm where existence and imagination intertwine, where the ethereal dance of art weaves bridges between the mundane and the extraordinary. In the creative Gap, those precious pauses between life's moments lies a sanctuary where souls find solace and humanity's pulse quickens with inspiration. Here, brushstrokes caress canvas, melodies emerge from silence, and words unfurl like petals on a poet's tongue.

Come, seekers of wonder, and immerse yourselves in the tapestry of emotions and the kaleidoscope of ideas. Let the hues of vibrant expression stir your dormant spirits and ignite the dormant flames within.

Embrace the power of art, for it holds the key to unlocking the Stowed away chambers of your soul, beckoning you to embrace the unexplored depths of your own creativity. In the creative Gap, the boundaries blur, and the possibilities are endless. Step through the threshold and be forever transformed by the magic that awaits.

The Space and Time event is a conglomerate put together by Carlos A. Burgos a long time Hip-Hop beat maker who believes the next big step in artistry is yet to come. He thinks art fusion between two or more art media is the new wave. Painters blending their style with Digital arts creators. Photographers and musicians making a collage of visuals to go along some amazing beats. All for the pursuit of an epic masterpiece. We come together to inspire the future. Celebrate the present and preserve the past.

Is it lying, or is its language just different?

You enter the space; the usual spread: white walls, straight lines, directed lights regularly spaced to supplement what sunlight makes its way through the windows, one or several boxes; synthetic estrangement, a game played on a board.

Is there a theme, a pattern, a rhyme, or is it just spat out by its whims? Perhaps you see one, or maybe those are shapes in clouds. It could be real to you all the same.

You nonetheless say “I understand”; an attempt from one domain into an unknown other.

It didn’t seem to hear you (it is aloof.) Your gesture wasn’t validated. That’s how you know you’re seeing something real, something other than projection. You paused just long enough to table your pretenses; unsure of what to seek from it.

You pick up the codes and feed them through your terminal; then feed the output back again and again and again,

and again.

Coler's Art Show

It is with great pleasure that RIVAA Gallery presents new works by artists from Coler Hospital. The exhibition will open on April 28, 2023, with a reception on April 29, 2023, from 4:00-6:00 PM. Join us at the opening reception and view one of our most anticipated events this year, showcasing Art by these talented Coler residents, valued members of our Roosevelt Island Community. Thanks to the artists, to Art Instructor Robert Fernandez, curator of the exhibition and to Jovemay Santos Director of Therapeutic Recreation Programs at Coler for making this exhibition possible.

Opening reception on Saturday, April 29th, from 4-6PM.

The exhibition will run from April 28th - May 21st 2023.

Afternoon Jazz at RIVAA Gallery

Latin Grammy Nominee Julio Botti (sax) and the South American Jazz Project

We are delighted to bring back to RIVAA, the South American Jazz Project with Julio, Andrew Baird,(gtr) Eduardo Withrington (keys) and Tiago Michelin (drums). An innovative and exceptionally talented synthesis of South American melodic influences, rhythms from Brazil and the Southern Cone, underpinned by solid jazz roots and traditions, the ensemble features the outstanding talent of four highly respected and acclaimed musicians. This is an amazing opportunity to experience the unique sound of this amazing collaboration.

Neha! Multi instrumentalist and Vocalist with Andrew Baird
A gifted singer, composer & pianist, Neha’s style can be characterized as a smorgasbord of musical personalities. She cites influences such as Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Otis Redding, Donny Hathaway, Sam Cooke, Dinah Washington, and Carmen MacRae, to name a few. While definitely rooted in jazz, elements of folk, blues, pop and her mother's classical Indian musical background also permeate. Her arrangements are thoughtful and complex, and her sumptuous powerhouse of a voice will leave you awed!

A Half Diminished Event in Collaboration with RIVAA Gallery

LOCATION: RIVAA Gallery
DATE: May 20 3PM to 6PM

We request that all attendees make a $10 contribution at door for this outstanding event

“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” RIVAA Gallery is proud to present -Infinite Imagination- an exhibition in partnership with the students of PS/IS 127 on the island. Join us as we celebrate and encourage a rising generation of artists that remind us of the creative within ourselves, and the spirit of youth that remains throughout our whole life so long as we choose it!

The Roosevelt Island Visual Art Association(RIVAA) is pleased to announce that it is once again time for Vernissage. Vernissage is RIVAA’s annual celebration of another year as part of the Roosevelt Island community. Whether you have been to our gallery before, or have never visited us, we would love to see you at our opening reception. Please join us on for our reception on Saturday, March 4, from 6-9 PM. The exhibition will run from March 2-26, 2023, As with all of our exhibitions, it is no cost and ART IS FOR EVERYONE! so come visit us. "Vernissage" Thursday, March 2, 2023 - Sunday, March 26, 2023 Hours: Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 am -5 pm Wednesday/ Friday from 6-9 Pm Reception: Saturday, March 4th, 6-9 pm

Beginning February 2, 2023 RIVAA Gallery will present work by a diverse group of artists for Black History Month. The exhibition “Essence Créations” focuses on positive and creative expression in the visual arts. Curated by Lorraine Williams, the exhibition includes the Pax Rawanda Embroideries with Juliana Meehan, Andrew Nichols, Ida Owens, Albert Dépas, Mona Coichy Haigler, Aziza and others. We look forward to welcoming you either to our opening reception on February 4, from 6-9 or anytime throughout the exhibition which remains open until February 27, 2023. "Essence Creations" Thursday, February 2, 2023 - Sunday, February 26, 2023 Reception: Saturday, February 4, from 6-9 pm, 2023 Hours: Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 11am -5 pm Wednesday and Friday from 6-9 pm

Bob Buckley has been drawing and painting for a few years. After some life trauma he had basically given up everything from his mid thirties to his mid fifties. When he and his wife separated he started dating a girl on Roosevelt Island. One day he did a sketch of Rainy Park for his girlfriend and for Christmas and his birthday she gifted him a month of classes at the Art Students League. He has not looked back. He has exhibited in many group shows around New York City. You Can Do This is his first solo show. He tries to start a conversation through his paintings. Hate and Homelessness are real and need to be talked about and dealt with in a positive way. Not all of his work holds a message they are just pretty pictures to get him out of an unhealthy space. Creating is what gives his life purpose.

The Third Bank of the River (A Terceira Margem do Rio) is a short story by Brazilian writer João Guimarães Rosa. He interpreted the choice of possibility. The bank may not exist in a three-dimensional space, but it may exist in the soul, the will, the inspiration and the spiritual space. It is a dreamland of the soul and a paradise of freedom. Living by the will of the soul, which some people perhaps could not perceive throughout their lives while others spend their whole lives chasing and searching for, is a kind of existential fun and spiritual status. We struggle with reality, but reality sometimes brings us strength. We always believe that the world is tolerant and our tolerance is capacious. Quiet and introverted, Irene Ailin Wang is an artist who was once trapped in life, struggling and shouting in repression, but she never stops seeking a way out. Art is her spiritual home and also the device she uses to find the true essence of life. She employs painting to express her feelings while obtaining calm and comfort during the creative process. At this moment, we are gathered in her art exhibition, reflecting and reviewing with her and searching for that ideal bank together with her. IRENE AILIN WANG Irene Ailin Wang (b. 1992) is a multidisciplinary artist and painter, majoring in Art History and Visual Arts at Columbia University. Her work is a metaphor of elegy and introspection of identity as a female and minority based on her true stories. She had a career in investment and was a visiting student at Yale University. Ailin’s entanglement of media is her metaphor for exploring gender and minority in technologically contemporary patriarchal society. Her work is elegy and introspection of identity to her past. Painting is her primary media, yet the artistic process is fluid back and forth between traditional canvas and e-canvas. The entanglement of opposite media poles is also a metaphor for her experience in a technology dominated by patriarchy and transit to studio art. She sees exploring her identity as walking on the third bank of the river.

CELEBRATION OF THE 2023 CHINESE NEW YEAR TheBLANC Art Space will be co-hosting a series of festive events with the RIVAA gallery on January 15, 2023. TheBLANC Art Space is committed to the important work of fostering culture exchange and contributing to the richness of the New York art world. The time of the Chinese New Year, unlike other events that take place on a definitive date, varies according to the traditional lunar calendar. It traditionally takes place from New Year’s Eve, the evening preceding the first day of the year to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. Marking the coming of spring, the 2023 festival will usher in the Year of the Rabbit––the fourth cycle of the Chinese Zodiac. The Chinese New Year event would present both the opportunity to generate a sense of belonging and community, and to demonstrate the importance of multicultural expressions of Asian and Asian-American identity through art. The celebration events will be on January 15th, 2023 at 1pm. And here are some of the highlights that will be on stage at Roosevelt Island:   Photo booth: We will be displaying backdrops depicting New Year’s scenarios for participants to take photos with. Our staff will wear costumes of rabbits or other symbolic characters for attendees to take photos with. Draw red envelopes: In China, elders will give red envelopes with “lucky money” inside to children with the hope of passing on a year of good fortune and blessings. The red color symbolizes good luck and prosperity in Chinese culture. We will be preparing red envelopes, with random straws for different gifts wrapped inside, for attendees to draw lotteries. And attendees will win the chance for entry by leaving their New Year’s wishes with us.   Gift-giving: We will bring postcards, rabbit dolls and spring couplets for participants to take home during the red envelopes lottery session.   Lantern making: The rabbit lanterns draw inspiration from Chinese legend, and also as a celebration of the Year of the Rabbit. The craft will be easy to make, and all materials will be provided.   Interactive activities: We will provide puppets and toys for lion-dancing that children can play with and take photos with.   Showcase of Chinese traditional clothing: Chinese traditional clothing has a long history and humanistic value, which reflects the changes and development of artistic and cultural aesthetics. We specially design a clothing display section for the event and make the audience experience the fun of Chinese traditional culture.

HOLIDAY SHOW We are pleased to welcome the Roosevelt Island Community to RIVAA Gallery for our annual Holiday Exhibition. Come celebrate the season with us, give a gift of art and make art a part of your holidays. This year’s exhibition, “Into Light”, will open on December 17, 2022 from 6-9. Amish Darr an acoustic performer based out of Greenpoint, Brooklyn will be playing at RIVAA holiday show on December 17th at 7:30pm

AMISH DARR PERFORMANCE Amish Darr an acoustic performer based out of Greenpoint, Brooklyn will be playing at RIVAA holiday show on December 17th at 7:30pm Bio: Native of Pakistan, Amish Darr is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who has seen it all–from the mystic city of Lahore to the concrete streets of New York City. After studying in American schools, he traveled throughout Europe and finally settled in America. Over the years, his studies of medical science and information technology stirred his curiosity. This led him to ponder and seek the answers for profound questions regarding existence. After extensive research and soul searching, he chose a spiritual path that calls out for spiritual unification and acceptance in the words, “Love for all. Hatred for none.” Amish’s eclectic music is thought-provoking, powerful poetry in multiple languages decorated with eastern ragas and western melodies and is the amalgamation of everything he has experienced. He says, “My music is the sound of my soul that cries out for true love. From heartbreak to spiritual ecstasy, it is bound to take you on a journey you will never forget. Social Media Channels: Amish Darr (Personal Page) Hidden by Soul (Shows produced by Amish Darr)

TREE OF LIFE A symbol traversing cultures and eras of mythology and philosophy. A universal motif symbolizing immortality, eternal life, wisdom, coexistence, interconnectedness, harmony & abundance. Experience the beauty of the tree of life on textile. THE SHOP Since 1969 our inspiration is an awakening of traditional art, an observance of individuality, and therealization of living in a sacred space. Our passion is reviving craft communities by integrating contemporary design with the expert craftsmanship of traditional craft. A celebration of the artisanal and handmade. A philosophy of beautiful living. Taking a moment to enjoy the beauty of the smallest materials that surround your life. Solidarity, cooperation, curiosity, creativity, diversity, sustainability, and humility especially to the planet is our expectation of ourselves. EVENT Thursday, 12/8 @ 5 PM - 9 PM : Opening & Merriment Friday, 12/9 @ 2 PM - 9 PM : Block Printing (Adults) Saturday, 12/10 @ 11 AM - 9 PM : Crafts for Kids Sunday, 12/11 @ 11 AM - 5 PM : Crafts for Kids

PAWTRAIT SHOW WITH FRIENDS Opening on December 1, 2022 at RIVAA Gallery at 6PM the exhibition “ Pawtrait Show With Friends”. Come and meet your furry friends on the walls of the gallery along with some of their friends. Humans and dogs are welcome.

ATELIER 546

Selected Works from the Roosevelt Island Carter Burden Adult Center Art Workshop

This exhibition features paintings and collages by participants of the Art Workshop at the Roosevelt Island Carter Burden Adult Center. Over 20 artists will exhibit more than 100 works, ranging from beautifully rendered landscapes, to boldly colored abstractions, to highly imaginative figurative works.

The Art Workshop is an ongoing program of the Roosevelt Island Carter Burden Adult Center, lead by John Mendelsohn. The workshop is available to the members of the Carter Burden Network, and is open to everyone, no experienced required. The workshop is designed for the participants to develop their own personal expressions, while learning artistic skills in a socially supportive setting.

Mendelsohn has remarked, “It has been great to see how the participant’s work has developed over the years. I am very proud of the art they have made, and I hope that everyone will see the exhibition.”

UNOBSERVED REALITY Lilit Vahradyan is a professional Armenian artist who graduated in 2019 from the School of Visual Arts located in New York City. She has around 10 years of experience in Fine Arts, her main concentration being in Painting and Drawing. She works with acrylic, pen, colored pencil, marker and watercolor. Normally working on paper or canvas, she works to capture her spontaneous moods, ideas and overactive brain. Most of her work surrounds the theme of line work, faces and imaginary realism. The sense and emotion of feeling something, or a compilation of hidden feelings is imperative. She stays inspired by her surroundings, dreams and emotions. Her intention is to exude the strength of intimacy and impulsivity of the moment, and to stay within the art making of the individual piece as well as highlight linear precision, control, bright color and bold marks. She has had several exhibitions both in New York City and Armenia. In the years of 2018-2019 she exhibited in SVA Open Studios. She has also exhibited in the Fall For Arts Festival on Roosevelt Island, where her mural was later shown in the Motorgate Atrium gallery. Then In 2019, she exhibited her painting in a group show at the United Nations Women’s Guild. In the following year of 2020, she participated in an online competition, called EGGnWORKS TagStationary based in Kyoto Japan. Between 100 artists, her piece became a finalist in the top 10. Her most recent exhibition was in her home country in Armenia, at one of the main galleries of the City Center. Here she had her solo exhibition, where she showed more than 30+ works. Her exhibition was documented, where she also interviewed on various tv channels and broadcasted live.