In den letzten zwei Jahren hat Reyes von der Seventh Letter Crew an seinem eigenen Alphabet gearbeitet, auf Leinwand, Holz, in den Straßen von San Francisco oder auf Papier. Was dabei herausgekommen ist kann man ab morgen in der Robert Berman Gallery bestaunen. Auch das dazugehörige Buch wird im Rahmen der Ausstellung veröffentlicht. Weil aber wohl die meisten von uns den Sprung rüber nach Kalifornien nicht schaffen werden haben wir mal einen “Misspelled” Auszug seines Alphabets zusammengestellt, von A bis Z. Victor Reyes hat übrigens im Moment einige schöne Arbeiten in der Carhartt Gallery in Weil/Rhein hängen (Public Provocations)
MISSPELLED, an alphabet by Victor Reyes, handmade in California. The ambitious public art installation turned gallery exhibition explores the artists’ unique approach to graffiti, by dissecting individual letters and exploring the anatomy and architecture found in the symbols we use to communicate. Inspired by San Francisco’s streets, surfaces, and overall visual vibrancy, Reyes reinterprets the letters and presents them to us in a brilliant array of color and movement. These alphabets, recontextualized on various abandoned surfaces around the city, are not intended to provide answers, but to raise questions about how we interpret public spaces and the content assumed within.
Over the past 2 years, Reyes has been diligently painting freestanding alphabets within San Francisco on its many vacant surfaces that resulted from the financial crash in 2008. What started as an initial impulse to push color and movement in a city with a long history of outdoor murals and graffiti has morphed into an attempt to inspire personal and public change in reaction to the economic downturn of recent years.
The individual letters painted in multitude have become an indiscernible narrative written in spray paint and acrylic house paints. These letters adorn trucks, fences, walls and rooftops throughout San Francisco. Alphabets have been strung together and carved out of forgotten spaces, exceeding his original intentions, multiplying in numbers.
“The photos and illustrations capture a time in my life when I was able to make this work for a city I love and labor in.” — Victor Reyes, July 2010
