Jessi Reaves


Jessi Reaves is an American artist based in New York City who uses the relationship between art and design as a material in her practice, often making work that operates as both furniture and sculpture.

Biography

Raised in Portland, Oregon, Jessi Reaves studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design. Originally studying furniture design, Reaves dropped out, only to return a year later to study painting. After graduating, Reaves moved to New York in 2010, getting a part-time job as an upholsterer, where she found herself in a studio full of accumulated bits and scraps. It was these leftovers that became the starting point for her practice.
Jessi Reaves has been included in group exhibitions such as Natural Flavor at Ludlow 38, New York ; Pavillon de L'Esprit Nouveau: A 21st Century Show Home at Swiss Institute, New York ; and American Basketry at Bed Stuy Love Affair, New York. She presented her first solo exhibition at Bridget Donahue, New York in April 2016. In 2017, she participated in the Whitney Biennial, creating inviting upholstered pieces meant to be utilized in the gallery. “Rejecting the sleek craftsmanship of iconic midcentury design, Reaves exaggerates markers of construction to an almost aggressive abundance,” note co-curators Christopher Y. Lew and Mia Locks.
In 2018, Reaves contributed a sculpture to the Eckhaus Latta show, Possessed, at the Whitney Museum. The first fashion-related exhibition at the Whitney in 21 years, the label curated their friends' art amongst the sculptural retail environment they created for the show.
Additionally in 2018, John Galliano invited Reaves to create raw, deconstructed sculptures for Maison Margiela's SS18.

Artistic Practice

In Reaves spoke about her relationship to materials in Foundations Magazine:

"Ideally I want people to embrace the kind of patina or whatever you call it… the stuff that attaches to any object existing in the world. I just feel like the longer that I've lived with certain pieces, or ones that I've had in the studio, that have survived parties, I love those pieces more. Even the stains changes over time, spreading out and they kind of have their own life."

Exhibition History

‘'Selected Solo Exhibition History
‘'Selected Group Exhibition History