Esteban
Rivera

Esteban Rivera began painting at the age of eight in his hometown of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Early summers spent in art camps introduced him to studio spaces that felt boundless—places where creativity and expression had no limits.

By 2006, he was taking weekly classes, where his distinct abstract and abstract expressionist style began to emerge. Deeply shaped by his binational upbringing along the U.S.–Mexico border, Rivera’s work reflects the intense dualities of two cultures, as well as social and political realities, shifting perspectives, and personal emotions.

During his final year at the University of Texas at Austin, he returned to painting, and upon moving to New York City, he pursued continuous education courses while working in both private and shared studio spaces.

Rivera is now based in the West Chelsea Arts Building, where he continues to explore the tension between turbulence and calm. His large-scale oil paintings channel instability into compositions that arrive at a fragile yet powerful equilibrium.