Michelle Reyes: REBIRTH

March 12 - April 09,2022

From the Oak Cliff Cultural Center: "The Oak Cliff Cultural Center is pleased to present Michelle Reyes’ solo exhibition Rebirth opening on Saturday, March 12 with a reception from 6 – 8 pm. In Rebirth, Michelle Reyes explores the lost connection between humans and nature through a personal mythology that weaves together familial bond with allegory, resulting in a narrative that engages a universal audience. Created using printmaking techniques, Reyes’ work references her Mexican American identity, ancestral ties, and personal experiences with change.   Understanding change and attempting to adjust to it is at the heart of Reyes’ narrative work. Animals and celestial bodies surface in her prints as symbols of fear, anxiety, resilience, and enlightenment. In one print, a snake is seen swallowing a tiger and in another the face of a sun is modeled after Reye’s own features. “….my fears take the form of Tiger. The sun, my enlightened self and my sister the moon, watched over different parts of me.”  The artist states that the animal avatars “embody struggle” and “convey a support system”.   Printed in a soft brown monochromatic palette, Reyes’ prints reference her cultural connection to chocolate. The color made by mixing sepia and white ink allow the viewer to focus on the story. The minimal color palette and composition reinforces several influences in her work. The circular and intricately patterned compositions recall calendars from the Maya and Aztec and the sepia tone is a reminder of time past.   Michelle Reyes is an artist and educator born and raised in Oak Cliff – Dallas, TX.  She earned her Master of Art from the University of Dallas in 2020. Her exhibition Rebirth is her final thesis as a candidate for the Master of Fine Arts with a focus on printmaking from the University of Dallas.  Michelle Reyes is C3 Gallery Coordinator at the Dallas Museum of Art.   The Oak Cliff Cultural Center is located at 223 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Oak Cliff - Dallas, TX. The Oak Cliff Cultural Center, as a division of the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, is free and open to the public."

Reception: March 12, 2022 | 6-8 pm

OC3- Oak Cliff Cultural Center 223 W. Jefferson Blvd.
Dallas, Texas 75208
Get Directions