Maryann Riker's ingenious creations rattle rigid categories for books and art objects. Her diverse pieces enchant and educate as they unfold in the viewers' hands and imaginations. Exquisite design and expert execution propel these art books far beyond the limitations of traditional paintings that hang on walls for ocular consideration.
The arcane boxes produced by Lucas Samaras and Joseph Cornell left a lasting imprint on Riker. In fact, their art still draws her into its odd orbit. She shares, “I leave nose prints on display cases at exhibits centered on their works.” Her job in graphic design and advertising also shaped her sensibility as to how marketing-driven image formation influenced women (especially from the 1940s through the 1970s). One will find many iconic images from this era in her pieces.
In the early ‘90s, altered books popped up on Riker's radar through a book group in Northern New Jersey and encounters with Printed Matter (a fascinating nonprofit in New York City that represents artists creating zines, art books and mail art). However, it was an exceptional exhibit of art books curated by Curlee Holton at Lafayette College that launched her into creating these genre-bending wonders.
Since that life-shaping encounter, Riker's work has soared. Over the years, her art has added its rare flair to numerous shows in the Lehigh Valley, New York City and Philadelphia. Moreover, wise curators have placed her art in distinctive special collections at Yale University, Chicago Art Institute, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Rutgers and Lafayette College.
So what does Riker hope people take away from an encounter with her work? She says, “I hope they broaden their concept of what a book can be through my work. Also, to teach them more about the topics I incorporate such as women and family in post-WWII America, the works of Emily Dickinson and other important moments in history.”
