Jessi Reaves
Jessi Reaves
Her work has been included in group exhibitions nationally and internationally, in venues including Team Gallery, New York; Swiss Institute New York; Herald St, London; and A Palazzo Gallery, Brescia, Italy. In 2016, Reaves presented her first solo exhibition with Bridget Donahue, New York, and she exhibited in the 2017 Whitney Biennial.
Education
She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. [1]
Career
Before becoming an artist she worked part-time as an upholsterer, and now she makes sculptures that function as furniture: chairs, tables and sofas created from startling blends of foam, sawdust, plywood, plexiglass and auto parts.
Art
She customarily builds on found frames of chairs, couches, and shelves to create sculptural artworks that double as functional furniture.
From bulging, stained upholsterer’s foam to patterned and embroidered fabric, the imperfect and ornamented surfaces of Reaves’ sculptures often reimagine functionalist design and lend each object an unexpected animacy that exceeds its original use.
With her material arsenal of found objects, industrial products, fabrics, and foam, Jessi Reaves assembles objects that challenge the boundary between furniture and sculpture.
Although designed for use, her works summon a lyrical—rather than functional—association with the body.
Selected solo exhibitions
2016
Selected group exhibitions
2017
Midtown, Lever House, organized by Maccarone and Salon 94, New York, New York, May 3 - June 9 [1]
Ginny Casey and Jessi Reaves, Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 28 - August 6 [1]
Liminal Focus, Barbara Mathes Gallery, New York, New York, April 26 - June 30 [1]
Whitney Biennial 2017, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, March 17 -June 11 Ruins in the Snow, High Art, Paris, France, February 22 - April 1 [1]
Looking Back/ The 11th White Columns Annual, White Columns, New York, January 14 - March 4 [1]
2016
A Cautionary Tale: Jessi Reaves and Bradley Kronz, A Palazzo Gallery, Brescia, Italy, December 15 - January 25 [1]
Dolores, Team Gallery, New York, New York, September 8 - October 9 [1]
Outside, Karma, Amagansett, New York, September 3 - 25 [1]
Gallery Share, Off Vendome, New York, New York, May 5 [1]
Bloody Life, Herald Street, London, England, April 24 - May 29 [1]
Design & Crime, Éric Hussenot, Paris, France, April 23 - June 4 [1]
Real Fine Arts Presents, New York, 809 Washington Street, New York, New York, March 2 - 6 [1]
Jessi Reaves & Sophie Stone: How to Remove Stains, Del Vaz Projects, Los Angeles, California, January 15 - April 15 [1]
2015
Natural Flavor, Ludlow 38, New York, New York, November 12 - December 13 [1]
Swiss Institute Annual Architecture and Design Series: Second Edition, ‘Pavillon De L’Esprit [2]
Nouveau: A 21st Century Show Home’, curated by Felix Burrichter, New York, New York, September 25 - November 8 [1]
Summer Group Show, Germantown, New York, curated by Matt Moravec and Taylor Trabulus, August 29 - 30 [1]
Panic Pant s, Essex Flowers, New York, New York, June 28 - August 2 [1]
Living Rooms, Old Room Gallery, New York, New York, curated by Josh Kline, February 7 - March 7 [1]
Paramount Ranch, Shoot the Lobster Gallery, Los Angles, California, January 31 - February 1 [1]
Das Gesamtsexwerk, M/L Art Space, Brooklyn, New York, January 17 [1]
2014
Seau Banco Carbon, Bed Stuy Love Affair Gallery, New York, New York, December 22 - January 2 [1]
La Casa del Cazu Merzu, Shoot the Lobster Gallery, New York, New York, September 19 - October 19 [1]
American Basketry, Bed Stuy Love Affair, New York, New York, August 15 - September 6 [1]
My Old Friend, My New Friend, My Girlfriend, My Cousin and My Mentor, Shoot the Lobster Gallery, New York, New York, curated by JPW3, May 29 - June 29 [1]