MELISSA RÍOS

b. 1986, Costa Rica



Biography

Based in Mexico City, Melissa Ríos works primarily in painting and drawing. Mining the fertile ground between figuration and abstraction, Ríos seeks to expand understandings of reality and its representation.

Ríos paints surreal, dream-like visions. Figures, objects, and abstracts overlap and aggregate like veils mediating between realms of experience. Full of emotional charge and presence, the paintings imagine the spaces between the physical and metaphysical, between imagination and experience.

With training in architecture and advertising, Ríos is a multidisciplinary artist and thinker. She is often involved in multiple projects at a time, taking on roles in art direction, interior design, product design, furniture and photography. She has shown in solo exhibitions in Mexico City, Costa Rica, and New York City. Ríos’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions with JO-HS in Mexico City and New York; her paintings were featured by JO-HS atZona MACO 2023, where one painting was a finalist for the prestigious Erarta Foundation Prize. As a Mark Art Foundation artist-in-residence in 2024, Ríos painted a new series that was shown in a solo exhibition at JO-HS NY and in a group show at Room57.



Selected works


Melissa Rios Voilà (diptych), 2024 Oil on canvas 31 1/2 x 31 1/2 in 80 x 80 cm. © Melissa Ríos. Melissa Rios Juró Vivir, 2024 Oil on canvas 47 1/4 x 35 3/8 in 120 x 90 cm. © Melissa Ríos. Melissa Ríos, Lo que no podemos nombrar, 2023, oil on canvas, 68 9/10 x 53 1/10 in / 175 x 135 cm © Melissa Ríos. Melissa Ríos, Un testimonio lleno de lucidez, 2023, oil on canvas, 68 9/10 x 53 1/10 in / 175 x 135 cm © Melissa Ríos.

Installation views


Installation view, Melissa Rios: Realidades en diálogo / Realities in Dialogue, JO-HS NY 2023 Installation view, Melissa Rios: Realidades en diálogo / Realities in Dialogue, JO-HS NY 2023 Installation view, Melissa Rios: Realidades en diálogo / Realities in Dialogue, JO-HS NY 2023 Melissa Ríos presented by JO-HS at Zona MACO 2024, Mexico City. Melissa Ríos presented by JO-HS at Zona MACO 2024, Mexico City.
 

Solo Exhibitions

2024
“In the Margins of What You Call Reality“ JO-HS, New York, USA.

2023
“Realities in Dialogue / Realidades en diálogo,” JO-HS, New York, USA.

2021
“Más allá del mundo que existe,” Cuarto 37, San José, Costa Rica.

Group Exhibitions

2024
"these boots are made for walkin," Room57 Gallery, Curated by Christine Mack, New York, USA.

“The Imaginary Made Real,” Berry Campbell Gallery, Curated by Paul Laster, New York, USA.

2023
“Sensaciones,” JO-HS, Mexico City, MX.

2023
“Lobster Club,” JO-HS, Mexico City, MX.

2022
“Looking inwards from the outside / Viendo facia adentro desde afuera,” JO-HS, Mexico City, MX.

2022
“Queremos Pintar,” Museo Regional de San Ramón, San Ramón, Costa Rica.

2021
“Valoarte,” San José, Costa Rica.

Residencies 
2024
Mack Art Foundation, New York, USA.

2022
JO-HS, Mexico City, MX.

ART FAIRS

2024
ZSONAMACO Ejes, JO-HS Gallery, Mexico City, MX.

2023
ZSONAMACO Ejes, JO-HS Gallery, Mexico City, MX.

Awards and Fellowships
2024
Erarta Foundation and ZSONAMACO Art Prize, Zona MACO 2024, Mexico City. Semi-Finalist.

Press
“The Artful Life: 6 Things Galerie Editors Love This Week“ Galerie, September 2024.
“ESTUDIO ABIERTO,” ONDA MX, February 2024.
“5 Must-See Artworks at ZonaMaco 2024,” GALERIE MAGAZINE, February 9, 2024.
“Semana del Arte 2024 en CDMX: Todo lo que debes ver y saber,” VOGUE, February 8, 2024.
“11 New York Galleries to Watch Out For Right Now,” CULTURED MAGAZINE, May 12, 2023.