Keeping up with Elias Rivera.
Elias Rivera's life is flashing before his eyes.
For the 69-year old-painter-who moved to Santa Fe in 1982-the last year has been the busiest he's ever experienced. Santa Fe has been good to Rivera; several of his paintings are among the permanent collection at the Museum of Fine Arts (107 E. Palace Ave., 476-5072) and adorn the walls of various collectors, including Gov. Bill Richardson.
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His colorful images of the marketplaces of Guatemala were featured in a documentary screened with great success at last fall's Santa Fe Film Festival. Rivera's name became even more prominent with the opening of two
concurrent, albeit controversial, retrospective exhibitions. This week marks the release of
Elias Rivera
, which author Edward Lucie-Smith and Rivera will sign at Garcia Street Books (376 Garcia St., 986-0151).
The book showcases Rivera's life work in two forms: a full color book with more than 200 stunning plates and an edition of 50 autographed copies including an original oil painting. The pieces chosen for the book begin with a 1958 self-portrait and trace Rivera's move from dark New York subways and restaurants to the colorful portal of Santa Fe and Guatemalan flower markets. Once the books are signed and sent home, Rivera will be back in the studio, working on a show at Riva Yares Gallery (123 Grant Ave., 984-0330).
Not only is Rivera keeping cool during all this attention, he's learning from it. "When I first saw [the film
Elias Rivera
] for myself, I was down on myself, as artists sometimes get about their own work, and I realized I was watching myself as another being." Rivera tells SFR. "I was taken aback, I've never watched myself paint before, for obvious reasons."
Rivera feels that years of self-reflection and hard work paid off for him, but he became controversial
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in February when Stuart Ashman, State Cultural Affairs secretary, pushed Rivera's exhibition through the Museum of Fine Arts and the National Hispanic
Cultural Center in Albuquerque. The move upset employees and eventually the Cultural Center's director of visual arts, Helen Lucero, was put on leave before opting for early retirement. Rivera was hurt by the controversy but worked through it, refusing to let it get to him or leak into his work.
Despite mixed feelings during the retrospective, the book feeds his desire to evolve as an artist. "It's an interesting juxtaposition because one [the exhibition] was retrospective, so I see my evolution, and one [the book] is a culmination of what I'm actually doing currently, exploring all my different worlds. Nothing repeats itself."
When Rivera paints, he does so with a mindfulness such that, "when I touch something it is affected by who I am; therefore I want to know who I am and where I'm going." Based on where he's been, he's following the right path.
