Fernando Reyes American, b. 1954
Fernando Reyes’s extensive resume of national and regional exhibitions was built from his Jingletown studio in Oakland, California, where he has worked since 1999. Born and raised in Fresno, California, Reyes spent his childhood summers picking grapes with his family. The brown kraft paper used to dry the sun-drenched fruit became his first source of drawing paper. Like many artists, he was a creator from an early age. After almost two decades working in San Francisco as a professional, Reyes left the Golden State to study at the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago, graduating with a BFA in painting. His early career was defined by an academic style of painting, heavily dedicated to figuration and landscapes. In 2014, Reyes’ work shifted profoundly after seeing a Matisse exhibition called “The Cut-Outs” at MoMA. Reconsidering the painted compositions he had spent his career refining, he began to explore new mediums. Just like Matisse, he found that composing with paper cut-outs was a completely different way of creating and one that opened new avenues for exploration. In the subsequent years, he has integrated paper cut-outs and printmaking into his artistic practice. He allows these new mediums to work separately and flow together, expanding his visual language from representations to complete abstraction.
Over the course of his career, Reyes has built a diverse portfolio and an extensive exhibition history. In 2018, he was honored with a retrospective at the Mexican Museum of Art in San Francisco. His work is part of the collections of Stanford University Medical Center, Alameda County Arts Collection and the Lesbian and Gay Museum of Arts in NY, as well as numerous private and corporate collections. Today, he splits time between his studios in Oakland and the Sierra foothills, finding inspiration in the diversity of his surroundings.
Born 1954 in Fresno, CA
Lives and works in Oakland, CA
EDUCATION
1997 The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, B.F.A
1993 San Francisco City College
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 REALMS, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto CA
2021 RHYTHMS, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto CA
2020 THIS LAND, Mercury Twenty Gallery, Oakland, CA
2019 Looking Back Cutting Forward, Mercury Twenty Gallery, Oakland, CA
Construct/Deconstruct/Reconstruct, Bond Latin Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2018 The Figure Progresses, Mercury Twenty Gallery, Oakland, CA
An Artist’s Evolution 1991 - 2017 (Retrospective), The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA
2017 Making the Cut, Mercury20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
2016 Paper Dolls, Mercury20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
2015 Dance Dream Drama, Mercury20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
The Figure, SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2012 Incarnate, Nieto Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
Form, RiskPress Gallery, Sebastopol, CA
2009 Emblematic Ink - Drawings of Tattooed Men, Underglass, San Francisco, CA
Sweet Dreams, Reaves Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 Bodies In Relief, RiskPress Gallery, West Hollywood, CA
2006 Body, Esteban Sabar Gallery, Oakland, CA
Body Language, Studio 26, Oakland, CA
2005 Introducing, JSL Fine Arts Gallery, Newport News, VA
2004 The Nude and Nature, City Arts Gallery, San Francisco City College, San Francisco, CA
2002 Landscape and Still Life, Wente Vineyard, Livermore, CA
2001 Unwrapped, The Nude, JGlenn Gallery, Davis, CA
Scapes II, The Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Drawings From The Figure, Dorothy Herger Gallery, Solano Community College, Solano, CA
2000 The Model, Etching and Relief Block Prints, The Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Scapes, JGlen Gallery, Davis, CA
A Fine Line: The Nude, JSL Fine Arts Gallery, Danville, CA
1999 A New View, JGlenn Gallery, Davis, CA
Landscape and Still Life, Saroyan Theatre, Fresno, CA
1998 The Works, JGlenn Gallery, Davis, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 quiet steps | LOUD THOUGHTS, two-person exhibition with Emily Rose Casares, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
2024 5th Anniversary Group Exhibition, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
Summer Collection, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
Art Market SF, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
4th Anniversary Group Exhibition, Pamela Walsh Galery, Palo Alto, CA
2023 Art Market San Francisco, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
3rd Anniversary Group Exhibition, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
2022 Summer Collection, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
2021 HINDSIGHT: 2020 in 20/20, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
2020 Truth/Dare 2020, Mercury Twenty Gallery, Oakland, CA
Seeking Nature, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
2019 Below the Surface: Grids, Layers & Arrays, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
FourSquared 10th Annual, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
stARTup SF, Hotel Del Sol, San Francisco, CA
Self-Portraits in the Age of Selfies, Mercury Twenty Gallery, Oakland, CA
stARTup Art Fair LA, Venice Beach, CA
KOLAJ, Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, Lafayette, CA
2018 Construct, Luna Reinne Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Califas, Art of the US-Mexico Borderlands, Richmond Art Center, Richmond CA,
Affordable Art Series 6, Luna Rienne Gallery, San Francisco, CA
stARTup SF, Hotel Del Sol, San Francisco CA
Pillars, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Melting Point, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
Paradise Lost, Back To The Picture, San Francisco, CA
2017 9th ANNUAL 50/50 Small Works Show, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
Summer of Love, Bay Area Exhibition, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
stARTup SF, Hotel Del Sol, San Francisco, CA
Luxe, Chimmaya Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
A Passion for the Figure, Back to the Picture Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Life Live, Arc Gallery, San Francisco CA
4th Annual Juried Show, Piedmont Center for the Arts, Piedmont, CA
Flora & Fauna Winter Exhibition, Sanchez Contemporary, Oakland. CA
2016 Delicious, Studio Gallery SF, San Francisco, CA
Pasion For Frida, Sanchez Contemporary, Oakland CA
Mercury 20 At Ten, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland CA
stARTup SF, Hotel Del Sol, San Francisco CA
stARTup LA, Highland Park Hotel, Hollywood CA
2015 A Common Thread - Oakland, Mercury20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
Prints: CA, LA and Beyond Part II, CSP, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
Figures & Faces, Pacific Art League of Palo Alto, CA
5th Annual Tour of America Artists Invitational, Cortile Gallery, Provincetown MA
2014 There is a There There, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
Squaredalumni, Arc Project Gallery, San Francisco, CA
City Streets - Urban Views of The Bay Area, STUDIO Gallery, SF, CA
The Figure: A Bay Area Legacy, Gary Francis Fine Art, Alameda, CA
Inspire Artists Who Inspire You, Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA
Life Live III, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2013 2013 Statewide Painting Competition & Exhibit, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA
Landscapes, Seascapes & Urbanscapes, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA
It’s Only Natural, Linus Galleries, Pasadena, CA
“Hey Everybody”, Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, CA
Life Live II, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Seventh Annual Invitational, Graton Gallery, Graton, CA
2012 From One Thing to Another - The Art of Recycle, Gray Lofts Gallery, Oakland, CA
Life Live, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Out-And-Out, Chimmaya Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Foursquared 2, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Figures and Faces, A National Competition & Exhibition, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA
Flow, National Juried Competition, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Get in Line, Susan Street Fine Art Gallery, Solana Beach, CA
2010 States of Kinesis, Nieto Fine Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Foursquared, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Drawn Together, Works on paper, Leslie-Lohman Foundation Gallery, New York, NY
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quiet steps | LOUD THOUGHTS
Fernando Reyes and Emily Rose Casares March 15 - April 19, 2025Pamela Walsh Gallery is pleased to present quiet steps | LOUD THOUGHTS, a two-person exhibition featuring Bay Area painter Fernando Reyes and Southern California ceramic artist Emily Rose Casares. The...Read more -
5th Anniversary Exhibition
December 13, 2024 - January 11, 2025Join us to celebrate our 5th Anniversary!Read more
Friday, December 13th
Holiday Happy Hour | 5 - 7 pm
Pamela Walsh Gallery is pleased to present our 5th Anniversary Exhibition, a group show of new and favorite works by artists from our talented roster. The exhibition will open on December 13th with a Holiday Happy Hour from 5-7 p.m. Let's raise a glass to celebrate this milestone together! -
Summer Vibes Group Exhibition 2024
July 16 - August 31, 2024Celebrating the essence of summer with a curated selection of collection of new artworks from our represented artists that play with color, texture and process.Read more -
Realms
Fernando Reyes May 6 - June 7, 2023REALMS showcases Reyes' exceptional ability to explore his visual language through a wide range of artistic mediums including paintings, drawings, printmaking, and sculpture. His oeuvre spans various themes, from representational to pure abstraction, offering a unique perspective on the world around us. His academic training is evident in his figurative paintings, where his skill in rendering the human form shines through.Read more
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Meet Fernando Reyes
Bold Journey November 23, 2023 Read more -
Art's Lucky Number Three
Pamela Walsh Gallery Holds Party to Mark 3rd Anniversary December 8, 2023 Read more -
Fernando Reyes and Emily Rose Casares "quiet steps | LOUD THOUGHTS"
Press Release February 9, 2025quiet steps | LOUD THOUGHTS FERNANDO REYES EMILY ROSE CASARES March 15th — April 19th 540 Ramona Street Palo Alto, CA [Palo Alto, CA] —...Read more
