Copper has a long history as a support for oil painting, particularly from the Renaissance onwards, when artists valued its exceptionally smooth surface, durability and ability to give painted light a distinctive luminosity. In Rivera’s recent work, that historic material is brought into a contemporary context. He uses the reflective warmth of copper to intensify atmosphere, allowing areas of the metal to interact with the paint and contribute to the glow of streetlights, windows and evening skies. The result connects a centuries-old artistic tradition with modern urban subjects, using the material not simply as a surface, but as an active part of the image.
