Artist Statement/ Biography

Recently, Gyz La Rivière (Rotterdam, 1976) produced a lot of new works in the spirit of retrofuturism. Underlying these works is the warning that we may collectively lose our humanity in the ‘big data madness’ of today. Or perhaps our humanity is already lost… Nevertheless, there’s obviously also beauty to be found in this dystopia. Gyz La Rivière is a visual artist. Film, installations, graphic work, video art, neon works, publications, and ready-mades are his favorite media – used in combination with his unique philosophy and humor. His projects are often extensive pieces of art driven by a research-like approach and his innate inclination towards collecting. La Rivière’s work is often about ‘time’ and the transformations within (urban) society and (visual) culture.

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The year 2022 marked 25 years since La Rivière’s debut exhibition at MAMA. Gyz has now accomplished more than 100 exhibitions, including solo shows at TENT, Cokkie Snoei, Joey Ramone, and OMI. La Rivière also exhibited in De Vleeshal, Roodkapje, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, Kunsthal, and in many more (international) exhibition spaces. He also published several books, including most recently ‘Home Video, videotheken & video in Groot-Rotterdam’ (2021) about video rental stores and ‘Het telefooncellenboek van Rotterdam’ (2022) about phone booths. And he realised four feature-length films: ‘Malin TV’ (2023), ‘New Neapolis’ (2020), ‘Rotterdam 2040’ (2013), ‘12 – a film about the Fret Click’ (2009). Among his most notable recognitions, he received the Rotterdam Maaskant Prize (2002), ‘The Praise of Folly’ Honorary Pin from the Comité Erasmus (2011) and the Dolf Henkes Prize (2012). His work is included in collections such as Museum Voorlinden, Hogeschool Rotterdam Collection, Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam, WORM Collection, Museum Rotterdam, and is in the possession of various private collectors. < BACK