Jacoub Reyes is an emerging artist who has built an almost cultlike following here in Orlando. A classically trained artist who continuously crashes heads with established notions of what art and artists should be, Reyes stresses the importance of artists using their lives and creativity as a platform from which they can create positive change.
Woman of the River, lithographic print
Reyes has been surrounded by art his whole life. His mother really tried to instill culture, science, and literature into his everyday life, for which he is extremely grateful. In high school, he was involved in engineering and game-making. This kind of set off the platform for creativity and the ability to see things in a different light.
Initially attending UCF to seek out an engineering degree, Reyes quickly changed his major to art. Now that he looks back at it, he probably wouldn’t have. He now holds a shiny BFA in drawing and printmaking. His drive for experimentation, seeking out museums, and reading has really helped him out the most in his artistic journey.
Working primarily as a printmaker, Reyes’ work is most often put together from salvaged materials as he painstakingly searches for discarded matter he can use to create his highly technical and majestic imagery. For him, the art is living in the process and moving forward from a waste driven society. Where some may see flat, static narratives, he sees a spectrum of tonal gradations and movement.
Reyes is creating a world of creatures and figures that tell a story through their skin. He fills these figures with intense detail and design while keeping the integrity of every line. His palette of subtle grays emerge from the media and invite the viewer to take a closer look.
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