
At first glance, Chilvers and Ricci share an interest in systems, repetition and the discipline of working on paper. Yet their works are never simply exercises in order. Each artist uses structure as a way of allowing something less predictable to emerge. Control is present, but it is tested by chance, movement, time and the changing conditions of the world around them.
Ricci’s recent Rastrum Drawings extend her long-standing interest in pattern, geometry and the landscape of her childhood in Emilia-Romagna. Made with a five-line nib traditionally associated with musical notation, the works suggest aerial views, ploughed fields, waterways and shifting paths. Their lines carry both rhythm and touch. They also reflect a changing understanding of landscape: no longer only as something ordered and cultivated, but as something fragile, unstable and increasingly shaped by the realities of climate change.
Chilvers’ recent drawings and paintings were made over a concentrated period earlier this year in rural Wales. Using a dice to determine certain decisions, such as colour, direction or the size of a block, she allows chance to enter the work without giving up authorship. Time, too, becomes part of the process, with the duration of making recorded on the reverse of almost every work. Her limited palette of red, blue, yellow, black and white gradually shifts through use, mixing and residue, creating works that feel both systematic and quietly alive.
A video conversation between the two artists accompanies the showcase. Speaking of their different surroundings, Ricci in the heart of London and Chilvers in mid Wales, they discuss what has stayed the same, what has changed, and how their practices now respond more directly to the conditions around them. Together, the works reveal abstraction not as withdrawal from the world, but as a way of registering its pressures, rhythms and uncertainties.
Established at the turn of the century by Niklas and Daniela von Bartha, the London-based gallery, Bartha Contemporary, places a strong emphasis on non-figurative and conceptual works by mostly established American and European contemporary artists. Hailing from the second generation of the art-dealing von Bartha family, Niklas, along with his wife Daniela, maintains a retrospective look at underappreciated modernising movements of the past in the gallery programme, whilst championing the latest works of contemporary artists.

A respected voice in contemporary art discourse.
Focusing on ambitious storytelling and insightful art-world commentary. Ocula Magazine publishes in-depth interviews, critical essays and timely analysis on the artists, exhibitions and ideas driving the global art world.
Learn more about Ocula Magazine
Showcasing the best of the art world.
Ocula partners with galleries from around the world to highlight their artists, artworks and exhibitions. Gallery membership is by application and invitation, with each member vetted by an independent panel.
Learn more about Ocula Membership
Specialises in the sale of major artworks.
Led by a team with deep ties to the world’s leading auction houses, galleries and collectors. Ocula’s advisory team offers bespoke services to high-net-worth clients from around the world who are looking to acquire the best of contemporary and modern art.
Learn more about our team and services