Isabel Riley is a multimedia artist currently making work in New Bedford, MA at Hatch Street Studios. As a painter, sculptor, and textile artist, each of Riley’s practices brings a unique dimension to her work. Consistent throughout is the convergence of two sensibilities: the patinas of urban and industrial decay mixed with the whimsical, spacious, and dreamlike spirit of the fantasy realm.
The combination of raw material and imagined spaces has emerged in part from Riley’s time on film sets as a scenic artist and plasterer. On the job, Riley has worked to build worlds from scratch, capturing the essence of particular environments, from vintage to futuristic, using basic materials like concrete, paint, plaster, and shellac. These are the mediums that appear in Riley’s art, informing its physicality and, as in moviemaking, allowing the magic of a vision to develop and become fully realized.
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