Thursday, May 28, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Location: 66 W Broadway, #506, New York, NY, 10007 (map)
RSVP required.
We are pleased to invite you to an open studio and conversation with RU resident artist Shony Rivnay, organized on the occasion of his new studio in New York and the forthcoming publication of his monograph, published by Sternthal Books. The event marks a new phase in Rivnay’s practice, bringing together recent paintings that take shape through awareness and research of time and place.
In conversation with Jessica Holmes and Naomi Lev, Rivnay will reflect on his process and the ways these elements circulate within his work. The discussion will consider abstraction as a mode of perception, along with the role and selection of color and form within his work. It will also address Rivnay’s recent shift toward monochrome, as well as the influences that inform his practice and the relationship between his paintings and long-term projects that unfold simultaneously.
About
Shony Rivnay’s practice centers on painting as an inquiry, exploring how time and experiences manifest in abstract processes. Working primarily with acrylic and oil on canvas, his compositions develop through a meditative experience, ensuring sustained attention to gesture and spatial relationships. Rivnay’s painting process is non-hierarchical; canvases are placed on the ground as he moves around them, shifting orientation and pace. Multiple paintings are worked on simultaneously, influencing one another while an internal coherence appears. Orientation is never predetermined, enabling elements to float, collide, and settle, and producing dynamic compositions. His recent body of work cultivates a visual language that operates between structure and intuition, embracing memory and the unknown as generative forces. Trial and error are central to his practice, functioning as productive tools that open formal possibilities.
Writer and critic Jessica Holmes is a regular contributor to the Brooklyn Rail, where she also serves as an editor of the Artseen section. Bylines include those in BOMB, Hyperallergic, New York Observer, The Magazine Antiques, Vanity Fair Spain, and the Women’s Art Journal, among others. She’s contributed to many exhibition catalogues and monographs; recent texts include Judith Godwin: Flux and Form (Berry Campbell Gallery, 2026); Tracy Thomason: Venus (Miles McEnery Gallery, 2025) and Rosemarie Beck: Earthly Paradise (Van Doren Waxter, 2024). Previously, she worked for the Calder Foundation for nearly two decades, including six years as its deputy director. Jessica holds a BA from the University of Rochester, and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York.
Naomi Lev is a curator, strategic director, and writer with over 15 years of experience producing exhibitions, programs, and partnerships. She currently works as a curatorial and strategic director with artists and institutions, supporting the development of projects across the U.S. and internationally. She previously served as Director and Chief Curator of EFA Project Space, leading exhibitions and partnerships across disciplines. Lev is the founder of Artists and Writers 4Ever and Collective_View, initiatives that foster collaboration and dialogue. Her work focuses on socially engaged art and expanding access to contemporary art, and her writing has appeared in Creative Time Reports, ARTFORUM, and The Brooklyn Rail, among many others. She holds an MFA in Art Criticism and Writing from the School of Visual Arts, New York.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
