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Meet Fernando Reyes

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Fernando Reyes.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As a child I was always interested in art growing up in Fresno, CA. Unfortunately my influences and resources were limited in the Central Valley. As I entered my young adulthood I thought being an artist would be a career I would pursue. Evidently it wasn’t the right time or the right decision. In 1974, I found a job in banking with Bank of America. In 1976 I requested a job transfer to San Francisco where I achieved a very successful 17 year banking career. In 1991, I quit my corporate job as a junior executive to pursue a career in art. Yes, I quit cold turkey!

In 1993, I moved from San Francisco to Chicago where I applied and was accepted to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). My focus at SAIC was drawing and painting with printmaking as a secondary interest. After graduating in 1997, I returned to California living one year in Davis and eventually moving back to the Bay Area in Oakland where I currently live.

My first solo show titled ‘The Works’ was in Davis, CA at the JGlenn Gallery in 1998. My exhibition history continued when I moved to the Oakland in late 1998 with my first figurative show of nude drawings titled ‘A Fine Line’ at JSL Fine Art Gallery in Danville CA. Since then, I have had 27 solo gallery shows primarily in the SF Bay Area with countless two persons or group exhibitions. In 1999, I opened my art studio ‘studio26’ in Oakland’s Jingletown neighborhood in the Fruitvale district. Every year I open my studio to the public for two annual Open Studios events in June and December. My continued exhibition schedule throughout the years has expanded my presence in Bay Area art.

My career has been varied throughout the years after graduating from SAIC with a very strong portfolio influenced predominately by the human form (1998 – 2015). I was taught to paint in a representational style but I felt compelled to find my voice in a style I can call my own. My figurative paintings are straightforward and representational often depicting a single figure. Others, however, through the juxtaposition and overlapping of multiple figures can appear somewhat abstract. My most recent figurative work reflects a departure from the linear aspect in my earlier work, inviting figuration to move a step closer towards abstraction. At the time, my influences were varied from referencing old master drawings to the Bay Area Figurative movement.

In 2015 a new direction in my art making took effect after visiting MOMA to see “Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs”. Unexpectedly, my figurative work took a back seat to what I’m currently producing today – abstract artwork in handprinted paper cutouts from mono prints specifically created to cut and paste. I’ve created mono prints for many years but the idea of cutting and collaging them took me through a creative journey expanding my artistic repertoire. This new work is an abstracted reflection of a myriad of images that has captured my imagination for years from art movements like Mid-Century Modern Art and Abstract Expressionism; from artists like Alexander Calder, Ellsworth Kelly, Rex Ray, James Kennedy amongst others; and from my childhood references memories growing up during the 60’s.

I have not abandoned working the nude figure. In fact, my interest is in marrying the two genres together in creating exciting and thought provoking work.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The challenge of working as a full-time artist can be difficult for many reasons. I had to endure the Dot Com Crash of 2000 and the Housing Market Crash of 2008 making it challenging to keep my studio afloat. Through my perseverance and work ethics I was able to work through those difficult times only to see tremendous success in the last several years.

Please tell us more about your art.
When I first started my art practice in 1998 I was predominately working from the nude figure in painting, drawing and printmaking. For many years I was known as a figurative artist but I cannot claim that any longer. Since 2015 I have been creating abstract artwork in handprinted paper cutouts. This work has opened so many more doors, it has ultimately grown my collector base substantially. My work is sold through gallery representation, art consultants, and through me in private studio appointments.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
In 2017 I had a solo show at Mercury Twenty Gallery in Oakland titled “Making The Cut”. The curator of the Mexican Museum in San Francisco visited the gallery to see my show and at that time I was offered an exhibition at the museum. The curator asked to visit my studio where he could see more of my work. He viewed early and current figurative and early landscape work. The exhibition at the Mexican Museum resulted in mounting a retrospective of my life work. “An Artist’s Evolution 1991 – 2017” opened in January 2018 at The Mexican Museum. The highlight for me was having the honor of recognition for my achievements and to have publication interviews throughout the course of the year which included the cover art for CA Modern Magazine Fall Issue 2018 with a 5 page interview.

Pricing:

  • $850 – $12,500.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
– Sol Gate Studios, Dana Davis Photography

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