ORLANDO REYES
Painter, curator and arts entrepreneur residing in Jersey City, New Jersey. His paintings are experimental compositions of chemical reactions, in which paint fractals manifest as studies of life, line and nature. Born to Puerto Rican parents in NYC, Reyes grew up during the birth of Hip Hop, and found his creative voice through break dancing and graffiti. An early exposure to large scale, public painting via graffiti, led Reyes to pursue two apprenticeships under established fine art painters in 1983. The techniques he learned included Flemish oil painting and the color theory of Matisse. In 1991, Reyes took his art to a public realm as he helped launch a series of socially engaged, street-based art campaigns around controversial issues such as the first gulf war, AIDS, art censorship, and corporate irresponsibility. As he became more immersed with the mastery of painting, Reyes left the U.S. and headed to Jamaica to pursue an artist in residence in the study of impressionism, landscape painting, and light manipulation. His travels took him to Europe from 2000-2003, where he carried out various solo shows and private commissions in fine art metropolises, including Copenhagen, Brussels, Paris, and Florence. His love for and mastery of color and pigment eventually led him into an abstract and non-linear approach, culminating in the complete abandonment of brushes. Reyes’ present day painting approach incorporates the use of eyedroppers as a way of pursuing an organic, pigment-centered style. His cultural, urban, and nomadic roots resonate throughout his art. Reyes’ work continues to be exhibited in galleries, museums and in public, both nationally and internationally.
When he is not painting, Orlando Reyes is managing his critically acclaimed gallery, collaborating with artists, and curating shows. In 2002, he founded the 58 Gallery, a space where artists gather to exchange ideas toward the cultural revival of the Jersey City art scene. Since its inception, the primary focus of the gallery has been to fill the gap created by the elitism of the New York art market, prioritizing creativity and innovation. 58 Gallery has hosted over 250 artists in more than 200 shows, and continues to be a centerpiece in the New Jersey/New York contemporary art scene.
