In 2015 Fernando Reyes ventured into abstract handprinted paper cutouts, veering from the figurative work for which he had been known throughout his art career. In Fernando’s upcoming show Looking Back Cutting Forward Fernando aggressively thrusts onwards with new ideas and designs bringing a playfulness in colorful design and a joyous sense of nostalgia influenced by the graphic designs and colors from the Midcentury modern art period.
Art is a second career for FERNANDO REYES, who spent 17 years in banking in San Francisco. He began as a self-taught artist, then decided to seek formal art education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BFA ’97). Throughout the years, Fernando has produced a large and diverse portfolio of artwork. His work has been primarily representational and includes oil paintings, drawings, and printmaking. In 2014 a visit to MoMA in New York for the Henri Matisse The Cut Outs exhibition made such an impact on Fernando that he embarked on creating his own cut outs. Subsequently taking his art-making in the direction of abstract art in both paper cutouts and oil painting. In January 2018, the Mexican Museum in San Francisco mounted an exhibition An Artist’s Evolution, a retrospective which has elevated Fernando’s exposure in the SF Bay Area and beyond. Fernando has an extensive resume of solo and group exhibitions on a regional and national basis. His work has been acquired for the art collections of Sutter Cathedral Hills Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center, Alameda County Arts Collection, Amoco Corporation, Ruth Chris Steakhouse, Tom of Finland Foundation, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, George and Cynthia Miller Wellness Center and numerous private collections.
