Julio Reyes, Headwinds, Oil on Linen, 23.5″x36″

Julio Reyes’ solo show opened at Arcadia Gallery in Soho yesterday. The show was breathtaking. The photos I took don’t do his work justice, so if you can’t visit the gallery in person you can view his work in the Arcadia Online Gallery.

Julio’s most poignant paintings portray a figure in slightly industrial landscapes. In “Headwinds” a woman stands in a vast landscape divided by a barbed-wire fence. The woman’s delicate hands cling to the metal fence that separates her from something that the viewer can’t see. The painting is appropriately titled, because the fence is preventing her from moving forward. What is remarkable is that you can almost feel the chill in the air and the warmth of the sun. Not only is his work skillfully painted, but it also evokes deep pathos.