NOVELLA is thrilled to present "SOUL", a group exhibition which brings together the work of Eleen Lin, Ann Wieder-Blank, Kenny Rivero, Kyle Staver, Fred Valentine and Peter Williams.
Kenny Rivero's "Crown Ball" is an homage to the Golden Era of America's pastime as it played out in New York, and the significance of the Polo Grounds. The same field where Babe Ruth hit his first home run and Osvaldo "Ozzie" Virgil became the first Dominican-born player to play in the Major Leagues, September 23rd, 1956. "Crown Ball" captures the momentous moment in a wonderful mist of light and dark greens and black. The narrative appears to unfold all at once in an ephemeral field of figures and light. There's a hint of a scoreboard; nearby, maybe it's Babe Ruth's crown, or a reference to the current day public housing where the Polo Grounds once stood. Figures are upside down and disembodied. In the center of the painting, a dark ghostly presence emerges and shares a glance with a figure below him. The whole thing is a wondrous dream.