"Never Been A Crier, Tears Me Up Inside" oil on canvas by Howard Reyes 2024

"Never Been A Crier, Tears Me Up Inside" by Howard Reyes, 2024
Oil on canvas, 30”x40”

Howard Reyes, born and raised in Manhattan, grew up surrounded by art. As a child, Howards parents immersed him in painting and he began to learn through the guidance of their friends. He joined the Art Students League of New York where he cultivated a deep love for abstraction. As a teen he then attended the Rhode Island School of Design Summer Program which solidified his commitment to pursuing art as a lifelong endeavor. After spending a year at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Howard realized that the structured nature of the courses was stifling his creative spark. Following in the footsteps of his father, Howard chose to become a hairdresser. This profession provided him the flexibility and independence to pursue his true passion, painting. After finding success in the beauty industry, Howard was then able to gain the privilege to paint without rules. He took influence from artists John Chamberlain and Mark Bradford who were hairdressers while they built their art careers. Through his work, Howard explores the intersection of language and visual art, drawing from the human vernacular to inform his creative process. His art becomes a conversation, a dynamic exchange between him and the canvas. Each piece exists as a dialogue, an ongoing push and pull, much like a sentence building toward its end stop. Howard’s art has been showcased at Preachers Valley (2024) and The Bridge (2023), as well as group shows and collaborations with curator KO Nnamdie (2020). His artistic practice continues to evolve, rooted in the belief that art, like language, is an ever-changing conversation that bridges meaning, emotion, and abstraction.