EMMA REYES
1919-2003, ColombiaA central figure on the post-war Colombian art scene in Paris, Emma Reyes was, above all, a self-taught painter. After exploring various trends and movements—post-Cubism, abstract expressionism, new realism, and kinetic art—she crafted a singular and visionary body of work. Her art, infused with animism inspired by pre-Columbian traditions, blurred the lines betweenplants, humans, and animals. Always favoring close-ups, Reyes created majestic portraits of fruits, vegetables, and hybrid beings, far removed from the conventions of still life. Her compositions brim with formal invention, where lines and vibrant colors unfold infinitely: hair transforms into petals, foliage becomes hats, and mouths turn into fruit.
Born in 1919 in Bogotá, Colombia, and passing away in Bordeaux, France, in 2003, Emma Reyes began her artistic journey in Buenos Aires before embarking on a global career. She studied under André Lhote in Paris, painted alongside Diego Rivera in Mexico, and immersed herself in the literary scene of 1960s Rome. Reyes also played a key role in helping exiled Colombian artists connect with the French art world. In her later years, she settled in Périgueux, where her works flourished with bold lines and vibrant colors.
Alongside many exhibitions that highlighted her career, her art has been celebrated in a retrospective at MAMCO Geneva in 2023. Most recently, her work was featured in the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, «Stranieri Ovunque - Foreigners Everywhere,» curated by Adriano Pedrosa, and in a solo presentation of CAPC Bordeaux.
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