June Exhibition: Recontextures by Trey Reis

Recontextures is a collection of new work exploring the unique process inherent to the medium of collage. Each work is built out of a variety of source material, from textile patterns and old comic books to reference texts and more. These images are cut and rendered down into their base characteristics of color, texture, and form.

Thousands of images are then pasted and repurposed into large-scale collages exploring similar terrain to early Abstract Expressionist works. The title of this collection, Recontextures, is a reference to both the process of recontextualization at the core of collage and the intricate, textural nature of the finished pieces.

Support for this work is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Iowa Arts Council, which exists within the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

About the Artist

Trey Reis is an Iowa Artist Working out of Des Moines. His work explores the unique characteristics inherent to the collage process through the creation of both visual and sound collages. He also runs the gallery space at The Lift in downtown Des Moines and a music label called Warm Gospel, specializing in cassette tapes and lathe-cut records.

Two collections of visual work have been exhibited publicly: Piece in 2018 and Chaos Patterns in 2021. Individual pieces have been included in group shows locally throughout Iowa and around the United States. In 2024, he was awarded an IEDA artist grant through the Iowa Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

You can learn more about the artist at treyreis.com.