JOSE RIVERA

A New Yorker, now in his 40’s, Rivera grew up without a mother and father. Not having family, he learned to do without things. He never had toys. “I have been creating art since I was seven years old,” Rivera says. “I asked God for something I could share with other people that could not be taken away from me. So this is what drawing means to me. Often as a child, alone in my room, I had only a ballpoint pen. With it I learned to express my feelings and find hope. Since then, using a pen to make art helps me connect to the most meaningful and hopeful emotions to get me through the day.”

When Rivera has an idea he sketches it right away or writes the idea down. He uses recycled or inexpensive materials. He prefers using found objects because they are free and open his work to opportunity and chance. He looks for found objects thathe can use to describe the patterns his life.

Rivera has recently begun attending the HAI Studio and in the past few years he has begun exhibiting with community groups.