Expressive and gestural strokes offer glimpses of Arvilla’s Rainforest Garden. Amongst the dense foliage and bright tropical flowers, flashes of animals appear in the corner of the eye. A yellow Eyelash Pit Viper (Bocaracá) sits coiled on a branch, and a Capuchin Monkey (Cariblanco) swings through the trees. Arvilla creates an impression of the different species’ markings and the texture of fur or skin across the works, capturing an abstracted sensation of each animal. Using oil sticks, Arvilla built-up the textured, layered surfaces of each work.
When Arvilla inherited a family property in Costa Rica he was determined to return the house’s garden / the former coffee plantation to the rainforest it once was. Collecting native plants from local growers, Arvilla repopulated the property as a ‘rainforest garden.’ In this series, each small panel offers an intimate glimpse of this regenerated rainforest.
