Irene Rivas

b. 1983, El Salvador ∙ CE artist since 2018

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Photo by Peter Prato

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Irene Rivas (b. 1983, El Salvador) is known for her rich colored pencil drawings, embossed in vibrant hues. The daughter of an artist, Rivas’s expansive practice also includes embroidery and collage. Across the myriad of media she employs, her propensity for “building up” is present throughout her work.

Rivas is dedicated to a robust and varied art practice. Her work with colored pencil is defined by depth of color, her assured linework overlapping to create opaque configurations. Rivas works quite a bit with textiles as well, her sewing technique just as stylistically recognizable as her creations on paper. Rivas’ subject matter centers colorful flowers and animals, and she is also sought after for her portraiture.

Rivas’s art is featured on Creativity Explored’s popular Cats and Watermelon tote bag. She has been included in multiple group exhibitions throughout her tenure at CE, including Mode Brut at the Museum of Craft and Design and multiple exhibitions at Art Enables in Washington, DC. In 2023, Rivas was included in the robust exhibition Into the Brightness at the Oakland Museum of California.

Select Exhibitions & Projects

2025
“Outside Forces,” Art Enables, Washington, DC
“Animal, Vegetable, Popsicle,” Art Enables, Washington, DC

2021
“Mode Brut Atelier,” Creativity Explored, SF, CA
“Mode Brut,” Museum of Craft and Design, SF, CA

2020
Artwork licensed by VIDA and SFMOMA for a series of face masks

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