Azzam Bilal Chamdy
In the evocative, liminal spaces where mythology meets the physical world, artist River Reishi has carved out a unique territory. Recently crowned the "Best in Show" winner at the prestigious Surreal Salon 18—a landmark event hosted by the Baton Rouge Gallery—Reishi has garnered critical acclaim for her installation Surface Tension. Selected by guest juror and renowned multidisciplinary artist Caledonia Curry, better known as Swoon, Reishi’s work stands as a testament to the power of ephemeral art in an increasingly digital, permanent world.
The Intersection of Realms: Understanding ‘Surface Tension’
At the heart of Reishi’s success is Surface Tension, an installation that captures the precise, chilling moment of transition between two worlds. The piece features a central figure—a sculpture emerging from dark, turbulent waters—reaching forward as if to pierce the veil of the spectator’s reality.
"The surface of water looks smooth and transparent from the shore, almost empty," Reishi explains. "But it hides an entire world that is not ours. I have always been fascinated by that threshold."
The sculpture, which emits a soft, internal luminescence, is cradled by an expansive field of black sand and amber. This base is not merely aesthetic; it is a meticulously hand-drawn environment that remains in a state of constant, fragile flux. Because the sand is loose, any vibration—even the footsteps of a gallery patron—alters the patterns. For Reishi, this is the point. She creates art that refuses to stay fixed, forcing the viewer to confront the transient nature of existence.
A Chronology of the Surreal Salon 18
The Surreal Salon has long served as a vibrant, idiosyncratic fixture in the Louisiana art calendar, often functioning as an unofficial, avant-garde prologue to the Mardi Gras season. For Reishi, this year’s iteration was her first opportunity to experience the event in person after years of engaging with the pop-surrealist community from afar.
The evening of the announcement was characterized by a high-energy, immersive atmosphere. Guests arrived in elaborate costumes, many of which were directly inspired by the exhibition’s featured works. The synergy between the art on the walls and the costumed revelers in the gallery reached a peak when Reishi encountered a patron wearing a costume designed to mirror her own sculpture.
"It felt like the work had briefly stepped out of the gallery and into the room," she recalls. Shortly thereafter, the announcement of her "Best in Show" win solidified the evening as a career-defining milestone. "It was already an honor to be included in a show curated by Swoon. Hearing the piece announced as Best in Show felt surreal in the truest sense."
The Juror’s Perspective: The Influence of Swoon
The selection of Caledonia Curry (Swoon) as the guest juror for Surreal Salon 18 added a layer of profound professional validation for the participating artists. Reishi, a long-time admirer of Curry’s work, notes that the juror’s career trajectory—defined by public interventions and a seamless blending of sculpture, architecture, and myth—has deeply informed her own creative philosophy.
Reishi traces her admiration back to 2009, when Curry’s Swimming Cities of Serenissima project famously saw a fleet of sculptural rafts navigating the Venice Biennale without institutional permission. This act of "artistic reclamation" resonated deeply with Reishi.
"It is difficult to break into the art world, especially in spaces where voice is carefully selected and curated," Reishi says. "Seeing an artist carve out space for herself so creatively was incredibly inspiring." This influence is evident in Reishi’s own practice, which prioritizes the artist’s "audacity" to claim space and assert a voice, particularly as a woman in a field that has historically demanded permission.
Process and Philosophy: The Architecture of Fragility
Reishi’s approach to her craft is defined by "practical constraints." Without the luxury of a sprawling studio for much of her early career, she learned to create art that could inhabit a space temporarily, bloom, and then disappear. This necessity birthed her signature style: the use of ephemeral, modular, and natural materials like sand, amber, and light.
The Role of Materiality
Reishi does not align herself with a single medium. Instead, she allows the conceptual needs of the project to dictate the materials. Her fascination with amber, for instance, serves as a bridge between the physical and the mythological. In her view, materials carry their own history and power; the black sand, inspired by the volcanic beaches of Iceland’s Reynisfjara, carries a weight and gravity that complements the ethereal light of her sculptures.
The Performance of Maintenance
During Surreal Salon 18, a minor mishap provided an unexpected lesson in the nature of ephemeral art. A guest accidentally shifted the platform holding Surface Tension, causing the sand to vibrate and the intricate patterns to dissolve. Rather than a tragedy, Reishi viewed this as a moment of transparency. She sat with the piece, re-drawing the designs in the sand as spectators watched. This act of repair served as a public demonstration that the work was not a static object, but a living, breathing performance of the present moment.
Future Directions: From Baton Rouge to Reykjavik
Following her success in Louisiana, Reishi is preparing for a significant international residency. In August, she will collaborate with the Raf Gallery in Reykjavik, Iceland. The timing is intentional; on August 12, a total solar eclipse will sweep across the city, providing a celestial backdrop for her upcoming installation.
The exhibition will explore the myth of the birth of Baltic amber, juxtaposed against the mythology of eclipses and the duality of light and shadow. In a signature communal gesture, Reishi intends to involve the local community in the deconstruction of the installation at the end of the show. Participants will be invited to help return the sand to the ocean, offering their own wishes or intentions to the tide.
Implications for the Contemporary Art Scene
Reishi’s work highlights a growing trend in the contemporary art world: a move away from the "permanent collection" mindset toward an appreciation of the site-specific and the temporal. By creating work that is inherently fragile, she challenges the commodification of art. Her installations—whether in a gallery, a city hall, or on a desolate beach—ask the viewer to be present, to acknowledge that they are witnessing a moment that will never be replicated in exactly the same way.
As she continues to explore the intersections of myth, grief, and the "threshold between worlds," River Reishi remains a voice of quiet but firm defiance. Her practice serves as a reminder that art does not need to last forever to be meaningful; often, its power lies precisely in its ability to fade, leaving behind only the memory of a transformative encounter.
About the Artist
River Reishi is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores the intersection of human storytelling and natural phenomena. Her work has been featured in a variety of institutional and alternative settings. She continues to document her process and upcoming exhibitions via her website, riverreishi.com, and on Instagram at @riverreishi.
Pevita Pearce
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