Understanding Nothing at the RA Summer Exhibition 2018

Maria's iconic Film Still, Understanding Nothing has been selected to feature in the Royal Academy's prestigious Summer Exhibition for 2018!

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the RA's Summer Exhibition - in other words, the event is cemented as one of the world's most established and revered group shows, not to mention one of the most diverse, dynamic and colourful, too. 

Dubbed the "cultural highlight of the season," 2018's exhibition has been handpicked by a committee led by acclaimed contemporary artist Grayson Perry and including Royal Academicians Allen Jones, Chris Orr, Christopher Le Brun, Conrad Shawcross, Cornelia Parker, David Mach, Emma Stibbon, Humphrey Ocean, Phyllida Barlow, Piers Gough and Tom Phillips.

Maria's original collage - a surreal composition, merging vintage Hollywood with Dali-esque surrealism - will be featured amongst 1,200 works of contemporary art, made by artists from all walks of life. The exhibition will run from 12th June until 19th August - watch this space for more news, images, and details on the upcoming exhibition...

Mayfair Arts Weekend: Liberty Gallery and ROSL ARTS

The 29th of May saw the opening of Edit, Adapt, Evolve, a Liberty Gallery group show at the Royal Overseas League, where a selection of Maria's recent Screen Prints will be on show throughout June. 

Established in 1910, to maintain cultural links across The Commonwealth, the ROSL is a not-for-profit private members club, known for its emphasis on diversity and opportunity: the club has always welcomed women as equal members and maintains a 50/50 gender split across the 16,000 membership today. Visual Arts at the club began in 1984 and they now present a rolling programme of exhibitions.

The exhibition will also be part of the Mayfair Arts Weekend in partnership with the Royal Academy from 29th June - 1st July, alongside over 60 galleries celebrating Mayfair as a vibrant hub of creativity and craftsmanship. 

The focus of Edit, Adapt, Evolve is the influence of the everyday and the altering of the familiar into the uncanny. Maria's work will be shown alongside Benjamin Thomas Taylor, Bonnie and Clyde, Dan Hillier, David Wightman, Frances Bloomfield, Joe Webb, Louise McNaught, Lars Tunebo, and Magnus Gjoen. 

Artist Residence: Maria Rivans Room in LOOM Magazine

Following on from a recent blog on cult, boutique hotel Artist Residence, here's an article that has recently appeared in LOOM magazine. Featuring the Maria Rivans room on its front page - with pin-up Amelia gazing out of her exposed brick and aged leather surroundings - the pages that follow reveal the story behind the hotel, through an interview with co-founder Justin Salisbury...

Edie as Cover Girl

Edie has recently featured on the cover of Elizabeth Parker's debut poetry collection, In Her Shambles. Intensely visual, often revelling in natural imagery with strains of the surreal, Parker's radiant poems sit beautifully, bound beneath Maria's characteristic collage. 

Artwork in The Point

Nora Caplan-Bricker's essay 'Leaving Herland' was recently published in the latest issue of life and culture magazine, The Point, accompanied by images of Maria's collages.

Caplan-Bricker's essay describes the feminist utopia of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 1915 novel Herland as "a world without men [in] a valley cupped by high mountains, accessible by only a single narrow path." What could be a better illustration of this fantastical realm than Maria's otherworldly artworks, basking in the glory of powerful femininity, and crafting dreamy, vertiginous landscapes from fragments of the natural world?

'Isabella' in The Point

Re-contextualising the novella in today's #MeToo climate, Caplan-Bricker's essay stages a brilliant interrogation of gender essentialism, exploring the meaning of utopia for women - and for men - in the twenty-first century.  

'Madeleine Mountains' in The Point

Edie at Kobo Cafe

Pin-Up print Edie was recently spotted in KOBO Cafe, a new addition to Angel's Upper Street strip....

Oh, and someone else was spotted there too...

Solo Show 'Hollywood Safari' at Lilford Gallery

'Hollywood Safari', Maria's flagship solo show of 2017, is on show at Lilford Gallery, Cambridge and Folkestone. 

'Hollywood Safari' is an exhibition of new original works by Maria, exploring the idea of disconnection and reconnection to nature through fragments of vintage ephemera. Spinning bizarre and dreamlike tales, these exotic and escapist collages are laced with ominous undertones, coming together in 'Hollywood Safari' to remind us of the darker side of human nature.

Edie as the face of Real Homes

Real Homes - the glossy go-to for desirable decor - featured Maria's (sold out) print Edie on the cover of their October 2017 edition. Set into plush surroundings - inky blue walls, exposed herringbone floors, and delicate chandeliers - the playful pin-up looked right at home... The fabulous interior is by Cheshire Interior Design.

James Jean in The Times

This photograph of the original collage James Jean was taken by The Times newspaper while on show with Liberty Gallery.

Violet in The Times

A lovely write up in Saturday's 'The Times' on investing in art, featuring the limited edition print Violet, which has now SOLD OUT.

Mrs Smith at the ZGZ Escena

Mrs Smith has been selected as the face of Spain's ZGZ Escena festival, to appear on leaflets and posters throughout Septmeber 2017. With her exotic vibrancy, Mrs Smith is the perfect fit for a festival that brings together diverse theatre practitioners and innovative artistic talent. 

House of Artists meets TOWIE

If you've missed any of the recent news posts on Maria's collaborations with House of Artists, click here to find out more about their wall covering commissions.  

TOWIE star Megan McKenna has recently installed an Amelia wall covering in her Woodford Green restaurant, McK Grill. 

Maria at Artist Residence

Concept hotel Artist Residence in Brighton asked Maria to adorn one of their beautiful Regency rooms with her collages. The eccentric and bohemian hotel distills the spirit of the city, filling each bedroom with the creative work of local artists. 

Maria's design featured images of Brighton from retro postcards, combined with Hollywood stills and exotic flora and fauna. 

House of Artists in Florida

In a recent blog post we talked about House of Artists, a collective specialising in exquisite wall vinyls by cutting edge, contemporary artists.

Maria's latest House of Artists commission was for a state-of-the-art pad in Florida, where the fabulous Frieda now resides. 

Film Stills at Artist Residence Penzance

Having brightened Brighton's hotel scene, Artist Residence opened their doors on the sleepy streets of Penzance in 2011, in a beautifully restored Georgian pile - another gem of an eclectic boutique getaway! 

Two of Maria's Original Film Stills - Flora Taking the Limelight (from Danny Kaye) and DIY Tiger - feature in the hotel's cosy cottage space. Set against old, wooden rafters, exposed floorboards, and antique antler chandeliers, Flora Taking the Limelight (from Danny Kaye) and DIY Tiger look right at home in their seaside surroundings, adding a spark of retro charm to these beautiful, rustic interiors... 

N.B. At the end of 2017, the rooms were filled with even more of Maria's Original vintage Film Stills!

'Out of the Ordinary' at Christie's

Christie's 2016 summer exhibition, 'Out of the Ordinary', marked the commemoration of 250 years of London's iconic auction house. 

Celebrating the unusual and the unique, the extraordinary and the exceptional, the show comprised over 90 lots, selected for the intriguing stories that they told. Jungle Call and Cascadia were amongst the works selected for the exhibit, both selling at the show's culminating auction in September '16. 

Eliza at 53 Degrees North / Laurent Perrier

We recently wrote about contemporary art collective House of Artists, whose mission it is to spread exquisite art through the medium of vinyl wall coverings. 

In the latest collaboration with contemporary collective House of Artists, Maria has been commissioned to fill a single wall of 53 Degrees North / Laurent Perrier in Leeds. A stunning backdrop to the bar's VIP area, Eliza adds exquisite colour to the iconic space. 

House of Artists in London

House of Artists - established by contemporary artist Ben Allen - works with a diverse collective of art practitioners (Maria amongst them) to create large scale wall coverings. Transforming interior spaces, House of Artists creates breathtaking vinyls - murals for the twenty-first century - which have attracted a cult following, for both public and private commissions.

Maria's work has just been featured in a glossy, London office block, where Frieda's face graces the whitewashed walls... 

Cover art for Sajinyesul Photo Art Mag

Following the success of her solo show at Gahlerie Bhak, Seoul, Maria was commissioned to produce cover artwork for South Korea's monthly photographic art magazine, Sajinyesul.

Artwork for Hyundae Munhak

Maria was commissioned to produce artwork for Hyundae Munhak, South Korea's acclaimed contemporary literature magazine. Her images can be seen throughout this beautiful summer edition, as well as on the show-stopping cover, featuring a brightly coloured reproduction of popular pin-up Edie.