Letter to the Mother [right] 1993

Elena del Rivero made this piece, Letter to the Mother, in New York in 1993 using ink on paper. The first thing I notice about this little drawing is the crazy, repetitive mark-making, like rows and rows of tiny dashes, kind of obsessive, right? It's like she's trying to fill the whole page with these delicate, insistent marks. It reminds me that artmaking is a process, a kind of ritual of adding and subtracting, building up layers of meaning through simple actions. Look closely, and you can see the texture of the paper coming through. The ink is thin and watery, letting the surface breathe. It's almost like she's writing a secret code, a language only she understands. There's a break in the middle, a pause in the rhythm, that creates this strange tension, like a missing word or a forgotten memory. This work feels like it's in conversation with Agnes Martin's subtle grids, those quiet meditations on space and form. It reminds me that art is an ongoing conversation, a way of connecting with others across time and space.