Evelyn Reyes

Lives and works in San Francisco, CA, USA

Artist statement

Evelyn Reyes (b. 1957) creates series of works of repeated abstract shapes in oil pastel on paper. Working on one specific shape at a time, her periods of abstract depictions include cakes, garbage cans, and carrots. With ritualistic reverence for each aspect of the process, Reyes’ art practice mirrors the repetition and order that are central to her daily life. She begins with a specifically sized paper, always 11 x 17 inches. Next, she chooses a particular shade of oil pastel, outlines the forms, then fills them with a thick impasto. The finished piece she carefully examines, cradles in her arms, and takes to certain cardinal points in the studio. Reyes worked in Creativity Explored's studio from 2002 to 2017, and her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally (See below). Her work is included in the permanent collections of Le MADmusée, Liège, Belgium, and the University of California Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, California. CB2 chose Reyes' carrots as the basis for two pillow designs, and COMME des GARÇONS selected Reyes' work for three t-shirts in 2013. In 2015, Reyes' artworks Three Black Carrots, 2009, Three Orange Carrots, 2012 and Three White Carrots, 2015, oil pastel on paper, 11.5 x 17 inches (each), were selected as winning artworks in the Big-i Art Project's fifth open call. Read more about Reyes' work in Larry Rinder's article "A Carrot is a Carrot" in Raw Vision, Gabriella Angeleti's feature, "Connection to Art through...

Artwork