Espejuelo 1964

Manuel Rivera made this artwork, Espejuelo, with oil paint and wire mesh. Just looking at it I can feel the process he went through to create this thing, and how the materials dictate the outcome. The paint is thin, like a wash, and the surface feels almost misty because of it. The wire mesh casts shadows, and that texture contrasts beautifully with the dreamy colour palette. Look closely, and you will see the mesh creates these tiny squares, little windows into the layers beneath. It's like a veiled reality, where the underlying structure shapes how we see what's behind it. The mesh is attached to the canvas with pins, or small clips, and that feels raw and honest. I'm reminded of Fred Sandback, who also worked with wire to create planes that hung in space. Rivera is doing something similar here, but in two dimensions, it's like a window and a painting at the same time, offering us a new way of experiencing the world.