FERNANDA RIVERO

"Liminality is a state I am constantly drawn to, it oscillates between an excess of agency and a lack of it, specially when we experience trauma, change, or chaos, the risk of contradictory information arises, evoking a range of responses from fear and paralysis to curiosity and exploration. My practice is informed by my experiences with that state of uncertainty, where my identity feels disoriented and rootless. Memory plays a crucial role because our brains are sensitive to that liminal space, altering the inherited narratives and stories we project to the world. However, memory is also an active archive that teeters between emptiness and saturation—a logical and bodily containment that simultaneously supports and restricts us. This paradox is the central focus of my practice.
I am especially intrigued by the social and cultural dynamics that currently seem to be disrupting old patterns, altering our perceptions regarding rituals, ceremonies, or normalized actions. Legitimacy is being questioned, and identity is increasingly influenced by gurus and pseudo-spiritualism, evoking a sense of separation from reality and unresolved psychological issues. Our reality is being altered by technology, making transitions difficult to compare within our current context, both against our stored memories and the collective archive.
In my work, I seek to understand the cultural alienation from the prevailing worldview of the present moment. The embodied experience of memory and the liminal is deeply attached to my own struggle of resistance against inherited and social labels. Raised as a white woman within a matriarchal family—viewed not from a hierarchical perspective, but rather from the standpoint of survival—my identity and relationship with the feminine are frequently challenged by deep-rooted loyalties and the shifting necessity to both belong and detach.
In this work, I create my own mundus imaginali, where feminine narratives and motifs are referenced through those who lose their balance yet remain stable, through moving objects, or within figurative situations of embodied experiences and imaginal realms. For example, in my painting series “In our hands,” what appear to be hands intertwining within a chaotic scenario are, in fact, liminal states of pursuit and integration between the body and experience—acting as a somatic marker and a memory trace that influences personal future decision-making processes and multiple approaches to truth."

Fernanda Rivero (b. 1983, Puebla) lives and works in Puebla, México. She has exhibited her work in Mexico and at international art fairs such as Saatchi Art (Los Angeles, 2019) and Red Dot (Miami, 2021). In 2021, she was selected for ARTfolio, a publication featuring emerging artists from around the world. Rivero held her first solo exhibition in Puebla (2017) and has participated in numerous group shows.
She holds a bachelor's degree in Architecture from Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla (2007) and a Master's in Industrial Design from UNAM (2016). In 2024, she took part in the international mentorship program led by Ty Nathan Clark, and between 2024 and 2025, she studied Contemporary Art History, Art + Interdisciplinarity, and Curatorship with curator Gonzálo Ortega. In 2026, she was selected for the first edition of CRAO space, hosted by Gonzálo Ortega and Catalina Restrepo.