Representation

Ceres Gallery
547 West 27th Street Suite #201
New York, NY 10001
212-947-6100

Elizabeth Downer Riker is an American realist painter and sculptor who lived in Oaxaca in southern Mexico for many years.  Born in Boston, Elizabeth moved to Paris while still a teenager and was raised on a barge on the Seine. She was exposed to the world of film by her mother, the documentary filmmaker Heidi Draper, and worked alongside her on several projects including a film celebrating the epic singers of Mongolia. Elizabeth received her BA in History from Georgetown University and went on to study film at NYU’s graduate film program, where she made the award-winning short  “Home,” about the legacy of Native American children adopted into non-native homes.

After graduating, Elizabeth began work as a film editor and teacher in New York City and there discovered a new love in painting. She began to study at the Art Students League in Manhattan, happily escaping the editing room for the freedom of the paint brush.

In 2004, Elizabeth moved to Mexico with her husband, the filmmaker David Riker and their two young daughters. Inspired by the Impressionists use of light and color and the beauty of the Oaxacan countryside, she began to paint en plein air. Elizabeth worked on a series of paintings of villagers planting and harvesting their land. She went on to teach painting workshops in the villages where she painted.

In 2011, Elizabeth returned to New York City with her family where she began work on a series of paintings of the rooftop farms. She had a solo exhibit of these paintings in 2017 and 2021 at Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, both shows were mentioned in the New York Times.

In 2022, concerned by the disastrous effects of a warming planet, Elizabeth started a series of paintings, sculptures and videos about the effects of climate change. Searching for a language that could inspire people about a subject that often feels despairing, she looked to the Surrealists for creative and humorous depictions of reality.

Elizabeth participates in several annual group shows, and is currently represented by Ceres Gallery. She is an Artist Member of the Salmagundi Club. Her paintings have been exhibited in the United States, France, Switzerland and Mexico.

Education

Art Students League, NY
New York University, NY, MFA Film
Georgetown University, Washington DC, BA History

Solo Exhibitions

2023
Rights of Nature
Ceres Gallery, New York, NY

2021
Re-enchanting the City
Ceres Gallery, New York, NY

2017
Beneath the Same Sky
Ceres Gallery, New York, NY

2012
Life in the Valleys of Oaxaca
Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge, MA

2010
Women in the Fields
Municipio de San Bartolomé, Oaxaca, Mexico

Group Exhibitions

2024
Ceres Gallery, The War on Women, New York, NY
ARC Gallery, Ceres Gallery at ARC, Chicago
National Arts Club, 32nd Roundtable, New York, NY
Ceres Gallery, The Diversity of Women’s Voices, NY

2023
Ceres Gallery, Raising Women’s Voices 2023, NY, NY
National Arts Club, 31st Roundtable, New York, NY
Ceres Gallery, Our Bodies, Our Freedom, New York, NY
Salmagundi Club, Time of Day, New York, NY

2022
National Arts Club, 30th Roundtable, New York, NY
Salmagundi Club, Annual Members’ Exhibition, NY, NY
Ceres Gallery, Women’s Voices: A New Day, New York, NY

2021
National Arts Club, 29th Roundtable, New York, NY
Salmagundi Club, Figuratively Speaking, New York, NY
Ceres Gallery, Resolutions, New York, NY
Ceres Gallery, Outside My Oeuvre, New York, NY

2020
Salmagundi Club, View Out My Window, New York, NY Ceres Gallery, Life As It Is Now, New York, NY
Salmagundi Club, Annual Members’ Exhibition, NY, NY

2019
Ceres Gallery, Raising Women’s Voices, New York, NY

2018
Hebrew Union College Museum,Your World, New York, NY
National Arts Club, Roundtable, New York, NY
Superfine! Art Fair, New York, NY

2017
Ceres Gallery, My Favorite Things, New York, NY
Ceres Gallery, Women Under Siege, New York, NY

2016
Ceres Gallery, Summer Celebration, New York, NY

2011
Galería La Biznaga, Oaxaca, Mexico
Municipio de San Bartolomé, Oaxaca, Mexico

2010
United AIAR Artists, Gstaad, Switzerland
Galería La Biznaga, Oaxaca, Mexico
Galería Ocho Mujeres, Oaxaca, Mexico