Nuria Riera RI

Statement

An Invitation to Pause:

In a world of efficiency, quick consumption and little patience, Núria understands painting as the opposite, a slow, contemplative act. She paints letting watercolours flow, she waits patiently for the water to dry, not hurrying things because if she would control it all, she would miss happy accidents that lead to wonderful paintings.

Núria’s journey as a painter began quite differently from most people’s stories. She was not the kid that was always drawing but was passionate about art and visiting museums from a young age. After pursuing a conventional path (university, 9-5 job…), she felt she was not following her own. At 27, she quit everything and with no Plan B, she enrolled full-time in an art academy to learn the fundamentals of drawing and painting. While studying art she discovered her true calling.

Núria moved to Tarifa (in the south of Spain) and she set up her studio there. In Tarifa, between two seas and two winds, she found her voice. Núria loves to swim and feels very connected to water. This is why she chose watercolours as her medium of expression. Just like water carves its own path, Núria explores her unique way with watercolours. Núria aims to go to the essence of things in her work, painting only what is necessary, nothing less, nothing more.

As an habit open-water swimmer, Núria cares for the sea and the marine life, this is one of the reasons why she paints using watercolours.

She prefers not to explain her works and lets the viewers discover the paintings through their own eyes. She chooses to speak through the language of paintings, not words. Everything she wanted to say, she expressed it with her brushes and colour, adding words would limit the meaning of the artwork. This is why she prefers not to include text with her artworks, she thinks even a title can be limiting.

Her paintings have been selected for exhibitions worldwide, they have been featured in international magazines and won awards, most recently in London. She has also been invited to different countries to teach workshops about her technique. 

Bio

Núria Riera is a painter. She was born in 1988 in a town near Barcelona. Recognised as a member of the National Watercolor Society (NWS) in the United States and awarded multiple times by the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI) in London, her work stands out for her unique way of using watercolours and capturing the poetry inherent in the everyday world. Each piece is an invitation to pause and reflect on what surrounds us, often unnoticed.