Kenny Rivero (b. 1981, New York; works in New York. MFA Yale 2012, BFA SVA 2006.) Rivero's work, which spans paintings, collage, drawings, and sculpture, explores the complexity of identity through narrative images, language, and symbolism. His aim is to deconstruct the histories and identities he has been raised to understand as absolute and to re-engineer them into new wholes, with new functions. His creative process allows him to explore what he perceives as the broken narrative of Dominican American identity, socio-geographic solidarity, familial expectations, race, and gender roles. Rivero cites the hybrid qualities of salsa, hip-hop, house music, jazz, and merengue—as well as Vodú, Ifa and Santeria, which were present in his daily life growing up—as core influences on his decision-making in the studio. Kenny Rivero's work is represented in notable public collections including The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York and Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida.
