Memory as Structure and Composition: by Nichole Riley
Category: Event Calendar
Date and Time
- Friday, Jan 9, 2026 6pm - 10pm
Location
N/A
Details
Opening Date: Jan. 9, 2026
Closing Date: February 27, 2026
Reception Date/Time: Jan. 9, 6 to 8 pm
Memory as Structure and Composition: by Nichole Riley
Nichole Riley’s current practice explores memory, trauma, and the fragmentary ways the past shapes the present. Her work evolved from early experiments in writing and layering materials, where memory surfaced through fragile media such as wax, rice paper, and screen-printed layers. These investigations allowed her to embrace imperfection, letting hidden recollections emerge as both seen and unseen.
Riley’s recent work manifests in watercolor paintings grounded in Islamic geometric patterning. Drawing on the historical use of geometry as a non-figurative means to express the infinite, sacred, and universal, she interprets these structures as a metaphor for shared humanity. The patterns reflect symmetry, repetition, balance, and interconnection—fundamental structures that are shaped by personal experience and memory.
Using watercolor’s transparency, luminosity, and unpredictability, Riley embraces chance, fragility, and impermanence. Color blooms, edges blur, and “mistakes” become integral to the work, mirroring the delicate interplay between memory, identity, and lived experience. Through these geometric forms, her paintings create moments of stillness and presence, inviting viewers to reflect and recognize both themselves and each other within the pattern.
Riley’s work continues to explore the tension between order and chaos, universality and individuality, showing that difference can be seen not as fracture but as an embellishment of shared structure. Ultimately, her practice seeks to transform memory and geometry into spaces for connection, reflection, and recognition.
K Space Contemporary is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to presenting and promoting contemporary art. This programming is supported by AEP Texas and grant funding from the Coastal Bend Community Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and Texas Commission on the Arts.
Gallery hours are Wednesday - Saturday 11 am to 5 pm and Sunday 12 to 4 pm. We are located at 623 N. Chaparral Street in downtown Corpus Christi, Texas. To learn more about the artist, the exhibition, and other K Space programming, please visit www.kspacecontemporary.org or follow us on Instagram or Facebook @kspacecontemporary.
