BIO
Marcela Reyes was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México in 1987. She was raised there until she was 15 years old. It was then that her family, mom and siblings, moved to Dallas,TX to start a new life. It was this move the reason why she ended up doing art. She knew no English, so other than ESL classes, art classes gave her the opportunity to learn something different.
In 2015, Reyes earned her B.A. in Art and Humanities from The University of Texas at Dallas. She completed her M.F.A. in Intermedia studio at The University of Texas at Arlington. She has exhibited her work throughout the United States. She received an Artist’s Microgrant from the Nasher Sculpture Center for her 2017 project, “Intercambio.” She is also a recipient of the McDowell Center Innovative Project Award for Visual Artists.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Marcela Reyes's research and artwork are connected to cultural hybridity, assimilation, labor and women’s issues within Mexican culture. As someone who has moved from place to place, her work is inspired by stories and events related to her life or the life of those around her who are part of the Latino community. She is interested in how traces of memory and narratives represent the complex relationship with the past, both her own past and the past of her ancestors. Marcela is artist who works with the process of layering different materials to signify the many layers that are embedded in her through her family stories and personal experiences. Her mixed media and photographic works are based on an intense research practice that involves working and volunteering among immigrant communities to learn about people's experiences.
Marcela Reyes was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México in 1987. She was raised there until she was 15 years old. It was then that her family, mom and siblings, moved to Dallas,TX to start a new life. It was this move the reason why she ended up doing art. She knew no English, so other than ESL classes, art classes gave her the opportunity to learn something different.
In 2015, Reyes earned her B.A. in Art and Humanities from The University of Texas at Dallas. She completed her M.F.A. in Intermedia studio at The University of Texas at Arlington. She has exhibited her work throughout the United States. She received an Artist’s Microgrant from the Nasher Sculpture Center for her 2017 project, “Intercambio.” She is also a recipient of the McDowell Center Innovative Project Award for Visual Artists.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Marcela Reyes's research and artwork are connected to cultural hybridity, assimilation, labor and women’s issues within Mexican culture. As someone who has moved from place to place, her work is inspired by stories and events related to her life or the life of those around her who are part of the Latino community. She is interested in how traces of memory and narratives represent the complex relationship with the past, both her own past and the past of her ancestors. Marcela is artist who works with the process of layering different materials to signify the many layers that are embedded in her through her family stories and personal experiences. Her mixed media and photographic works are based on an intense research practice that involves working and volunteering among immigrant communities to learn about people's experiences.