The Space Between knowing
2025
The TL STUDIO, NYC. Curator: Naomi Lev
Text by Naomi Lev
In his book Pictures of Nothing: Abstract Art Since Pollock, Kirk Varnedoe indicates that abstract art is not a style, but a worldview. It is a way of looking at the world that sees not only things, but the spaces and energies between things. He states: “...abstraction is most successful and effective when association and meaning appear to be out of reach.” Shony Rivnay exemplifies this point of view with paintings that are dynamic and unpredictable, a visual manifestation of constant movement. But with sustained presence and close observation, a profound stillness emerges. The vibrancy of the colors, brushstrokes, and shapes resolve into a centered, slow-motion dance, where Rivnay's compositions transform across the canvas like molten lava, bubbling and burning in a deliberate measured flow.
Rivnay's process is fueled by internal experiences and the external world, a relentless inquiry into natural movements, transitions, and evolution. These exposed processes prompt us to consider the inherent idea of existence–if these compositions are alive they must be inextricably linked to time and place. Artist Sam Gilliam responded to a 2018 interview question, how can abstract art be political, by stating: "It messes with you, it convinces you that what you think isn’t all." Rivnay's paintings embody this disruption, revealing that what is perceived in one moment may dissolve into something entirely different the next. The compositions are elusive, intellectually stimulating, and demand a depth of abstract thinking that engages with concrete realities.
Each painting is distinct and born of a specific moment, reminding us that art, like reality, is a tapestry of explicit viewpoints. Each piece is a world unto itself, connected only by the artist's hand, body, and the particular time and place of creation. The compositions create spaces where elements float, interact, detach, and resonate with an ever-presence. The compositions offer a dynamic perception of time, a constant interplay between softness and harshness, foreground and background, the edges of the canvas, the floating, and the grounded. As Varnedoe observed, abstract art is not a form of utterance; it is not necessarily an art of self-expression or emotional release. It is a form of inquiry, of higher thinking, a mode of discovery. It is, at its core, about expanded perception and ways of seeing. And while viewers may naturally seek to interpret these paintings through familiar lenses—objects, nature, emotions—their eventual true purpose is to liberate the mind and spirit, to embrace the confusion that Gilliam spoke of, and to experience the complexity of the permanent and deep unchanging reality.
The paintings align with the tradition of abstract art that prioritizes form, color, and composition over narrative representation. Echoing the revolutionary spirit of artists like Kandinsky, with his push and pull dynamics, Mondrian's tempo, Pollock's lack of hierarchy, Frankenthaler's vivid color motions, the explosive presence of Julie Mehretu, and Gordon Matta-Clark’s missing architecture and philosophical spaces, Rivnay is inspired by a lineage that has redefined the perception of art. These artists, through their performative acts, challenged traditional notions of representation, broke down the boundaries between art and life, and created new forms of expression. Rivnay, too, considers his work a performative act, where the size of the canvases, their being stretched or boundaryless, the space they occupy, and the rhythm and pace of his process, all contribute to a final experience.
"Fragments of things," Rivnay declares, "these are my paintings." The significance of each detail, whether a leaf's origin, a historical moment, or a geopolitical event, lies in its inclusion, its contextualization within the larger whole. "Be water," Rivnay quotes actor Bruce Lee, encapsulating his philosophy of artistic practice. His plans, he acknowledges, are fleeting, subject to the unpredictable nature of the creative process. In the realm of Rivnay's art, each fragment, each moment, contributes to an ever-evolving, fluid understanding of existence, and to the spaces between knowing.