Urban Arts Festival I & II *Coordinator/Producer

*Coordinator/Producer 
August 14, 2008
August 8, 2009            
URBAN ARTS FESTIVAL II                                                
Golden & Green Street
New London, CT 06320


The Urban Arts Festival was developed in collaboration with SailFest, one of Southeastern Connecticut's largest outdoor summer festivals with over 300,000 attendees annually, and held at New London's historic waterfront. The Urban Arts Festival closed two city blocks that became the stage for an outdoor art event that would allow young graffiti artists to paint live and exhibit their creations. Denny contacted and assembled over 20 artists to participate, and coordinated the construction of over 220 square feet of standing paneling for these artists to paint on.  He was also pivotal in booking guest artists Cope2 and EwokONE to participate and paint two large murals in the middle of the downtown community.  

LIST OF ALL ART EXHIBITS

ART EXHIBITS



* - Group Exhibit
+ - Mural

9/10        ATICC BOUTIQUE/GALLERY, “Escapism”  *
8/10        ATICC BOUTIQUE/GALLERY, “Distancia”                              
5/10        THE RIVERSIDE ARTIST STUDIO/GALLERY   *
4/10        MYSTIC ART CENTER, “Art After Dark”                               
2/10        HYGIENIC ART GALLERY, “Gesture, Making a Mark”   *
11/10       HYGIENIC ART GALLERY, “Art = Gift”   *
10/09       EXPRESIONES, “Food Stroll”   *
9/09         GREEN STREET, "Veronica"   +
9/09         TAKE OUT GALLERY, “New Work”                       
7/09         ATICC BOUTIQUE/GALLERY, “Nostalgia”                     
3/08         140 BELOW STUDIO/GALLERY                        
10/07       HYGIENIC ART, “Creepy Monkey Show”   *
6/07         MUSE GALLERY, “Installation”                       
4/07         MYSTIC ART CENTER, “First Annual Art & Jazz Show”         
11/06       NICO'S CAFE   +
8/06         DEW ART GALLERY, “Ridiculousaurus”   *
5/06         GOLDEN STREET GALLERY   *
4/06         THE BRASS RAIL LOUNGE                           
2/06         OASIS CAFE                           
11/05       DEW ART GALLERY, “The Box Show”   *
2/05         HYGIENIC ART GALLERY, “Human Terrarium”   *
2/05         GREENS, BOOKS & BEANS                                                 
4/03         STATION 58 CAFE                        

Muse *Managing Partner/ Gallery Director

*Managing Partner/ Gallery Director
June 2007 to March 2010              
MUSE SHOES/GALLERY, LLC                        
102 Golden Street                                                 
New London, CT 06320

MUSE shoes/gallery was an entrepreneurial business venture founded by Denny Rivera and Frank Marchany in June 2007.  The space ran as a hybrid high-end shoe retailer and art gallery in the artistic community of downtown New London, CT.  Denny was responsible for the interior design and branding of the business, and was the director of the gallery space which, inclining itself to showcasing urban art, featured shows by the likes of world renowned artists such as The Terrible T-Kid, Cope2 and Indie, as well as other regional and local artists displaying works in all mediums.  Denny also helped produce two of New London's Urban Art Shows - a large outdoor art exhibit of graffiti art that collected artists and graf crews from the Tri-State area to produce work on over 220 square feet of assembled panels over two city blocks.  Guest artists for these events included Cope2 and EwokOne.

After a successful run at MUSE, Denny co-opened [ATICC], a boutique featuring original art and fashion designs, also in downtown New London.

[aticc] Boutique/Gallery *Owner/Gallery Director

*Owner/Gallery Director 


April 2010  to present          
ATICC BOUTIQUE/GALLERY               
140-B  State Street
New London, CT 06320

[ATICC] was created to blend art with a different medium - fashion design.  Denny and [ATICC] co-owner Cristin Gallagher envisioned a space that would showcase custom apparel of their own designs, and  the designs of other local and regional designers.  In addition to this, they continue to exhibit the multi-medium works of both established and up-and-coming artists.  As an owner Denny continues to hone his business skills and has taken an active roll in the marketing and advertising of his business and monthly art shows.  Where the blending of artistic and business skills in most artists is still not commonplace, Denny, by necessity, has acquired the skills necessary to creatively promote and self-promote through traditional channels and via all the tools made available by social media.

Sol Lewitt Wall Drawing *Draftsman/Muralist

*Draftsman/Muralist
January to February 2010
SOL LEWITT WALL DRAWING (Ten-Ten)       
Three Rivers Community College
Norwich, CT 06320

Ten-Ten is a Sol Lewitt wall drawing licensed to Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, CT.  The design measures over two-stories tall and nearly 30' in length and is featured in the college's main lobby.  This piece was the third Sol Lewitt project for Denny, and his previous experience made him a natural choice to be included in this work crew.  This drawing took two weeks to complete.

SOL LEWITT WALL DRAWING *Draftsman Muralist

*Draftsman Muralist
February 2005              
SOL LEWITT WALL DRAWING                      
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
625 Williams Street
New London, CT 06320  


The Lyman Allyn Art Museum, located in New London, Connecticut, exhibited a series of Sol Lewitt works for this installation. Denny was responsible for installing seven different wall drawings for this exhibit. From prepping, drafting to painting took fourteen days to complete. This was Denny's second experience working on the late conceptual/minimal artist's wall drawings, and of the three installations remains Denny's personal favorite. These designs were bordered with black, allowing the viewer to really focus on his conceptions within each piece.

SOL LEWITT WALL DRAWING *Muralist

*Muralist 
May to July 2003               
SOL LEWITT WALL DRAWING                                                                     

Crocker House                                               
54 State Street,
New London, CT 06320

The Crocker House is one of the most distinguished buildings located in downtown New London, Connecticut. The lobby of the building was the perfect space for a mural, and modernist Sol Lewitt designed a wall drawing specifically for that space.  Denny was selected to be on the work crew despite never being exposed to Sol or his work.  Over the course of the summer Denny gained valuable insight and experience in not only painting large scale murals, but also working on a team with several other artists to accomplish the same goal. This experience would shape Denny's view of collaboration and artistic execution, and would instill a discipline and attention to detail that has been a part of his personal process ever since.

ISAAC *Teacher’s Aide

*Teacher’s Aide 
September 1998 to April 1999              
ISAAC-INTERDISTRICT SCHOOL FOR                                         
ARTS & COMMUNICATION
190 Gov. Winthrop Blvd
New London, CT 06320

ISAAC was an after school program where kids continued artistic projects for extra credit.
My position was to assist them with developing their skills like writing and drawing. Being a teachers Aide helped to open doors within my community to then get hired as a private art instructor. Also assisting in networking more arts into the community.