Edgar Reyes

(he/him)

2022–2024

Biography

Edgar Reyes (b. Guadalajara, Mexico) is a multimedia artist and educator based in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. Reyes’s work invites viewers to think about the people, places, and connections they carry with them. His practice draws on the specifics of his own life, and reflections of shared experiences of resettlement and migration. Through his art making he explores his family’s Mexican and Indigenous roots.

Reyes earned his MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and has taught at nonprofit organizations, schools, universities, and museums. His work has been prominently featured in large scale public installations including Sueños, a monumental light box and banners displayed during Baltimore’s Light City Festival (2017), and Xochitl, vivid abstract patterns installed in shop windows in Rockville, MD as part of the VisArts Make It Visible project (2021).

His work has been featured in galleries and public spaces across the United States. He has developed installations for the Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, MD), where his work was exhibited in dialogue with the permanent collection, and encouraged community participation. Recent honors include Rubys Artist Grant recipient (2021), Keyholder Resident Artist at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center (2021), Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize Semifinalists (2021), and Bresler Resident Artist at VisArts (2021).

Installation view of “It Was Only a Dream,” Hamiltonian Artists. Photo: Vivian Marie Doering

Edgar Reyes, “Retablo de la Curandero” (2023), acrylic paint, spray paint, wood, and card, dimensions variable. Photo: Vivian Marie Doering

“Retablo de la Curandero” (detail) (2023), acrylic paint, spray paint, wood, and card, dimensions variable. Photo: Vivian Marie Doering

Installation view of “It Was Only a Dream,” Hamiltonian Artists, May 18–June 22, 2024. Photo: Vivian Marie Doering

Artist statement

Many of my projects are autobiographical and a reflection of my personal journey as an undocumented youth in the United States. My work focuses on the precious and difficult moments my family and community face. Overall my practice is inspired by our shared experiences and my passion to highlight connections between the art of our ancestors and the contemporary Mexican diaspora. I explore how the blending of Indigenous and European traditions is an ongoing process of conquest and resistance.

My art making is centered around building compassion and understanding around the complex history of forced and volunteering resettlement throughout the Americas. I emphasize the beauty of being Mexican American, yet question my national and cultural traditions. I usually create pieces in a collaborative platform as an act of healing and as a resource to creatively engage others in our connection to the land and our narratives of survival.