J.M. Reyes

J.M. Reyes, born José Manuel Reyes in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, in 1963, is a self-taught painter whose career has developed from meticulous realism into a more expressive contemporary approach. Reyes began painting as a child and pursued art professionally from a young age, establishing his career in 1980 and presenting his first exhibition in Arcos de la Frontera in 1988. His early work centered largely on traditional still lifes, particularly fruit, grapes, wine, and other subjects closely associated with his native Andalusia. Years spent mastering those highly controlled compositions gave him the technical foundation that continues to anchor his work even as his handling of paint has become freer and more experimental.

The culture of Jerez has remained one of the strongest influences on Reyes throughout his career. Horses, bulls, wine, flamenco, religious traditions, and the visual character of southern Spain repeatedly enter his work, with the horse becoming one of his most important subjects. His equestrian paintings combine clearly observed anatomy with broad passages of color, scraped and layered surfaces, and backgrounds that move toward abstraction. Rather than separating realism from abstraction, Reyes allows the two to work together: the animal remains recognizable and physically convincing while surrounding marks convey speed, force, and atmosphere. That evolution is especially visible in his contemporary horse paintings, where energetic brushwork and vivid color have become as important as the subject itself.

Reyes has maintained an extensive exhibition career in Spain and abroad, with work presented in cities throughout Spain as well as at international art fairs in Miami and New York. His connection to Jerez has also led to significant civic commissions. He created the official poster for the 2015 Feria del Caballo, one of the city’s defining cultural events, bringing together the horse and the region’s wine heritage in a single composition. His other major commissions include official posters for Jerez’s Holy Week celebrations, Corpus Christi, the 2013 Coronation of the Virgen de la Esperanza de la Yedra, and Jerez, European City of Wine 2014. Today, Reyes continues to work across equestrian, wildlife, still-life, and figurative subjects, bringing decades of realist discipline into paintings distinguished by increasingly confident color, movement, and painterly freedom. ×