Following his show at the Pintô Art Museum in the Philippines, Reen Barrera is bringing his work back to Los Angeles again for a special collection of works on paper. ‘Ugly Phases’ follows up the artist’s sold out exhibition with us this past summer and showcases his strength and versatility while working with different mediums.

Barrera has taken the idiom “it’s written all over your face” to heart and beyond, crafting his work around a central character he created early on in his career as an artist. Ohlala embodies Barrera’s thoughts, displaying them through a variety of colors painted on the being’s face. This serves as a mechanism to silently communicate, focusing on the unspoken rather than what is loud and clear.

In this new series of works on paper, the Barrera finds himself embracing accidents like drips, smudges, and splatters, allowing these to lead him to the final product.

About Reen Barrera
Born in Paris, France, in 1990, Philippines based artist Reen Barrera spent his childhood recreating his favorite cartoons with papier-mâché’. As a teenager, he repaired wooden church statues and would keep the excess wood scraps to make toys and figures out of. He naturally circled back into this practice after graduating from art school. With “Ohlala’ being the omphalos to his universe, Barrera presents a colorful commentary based on personal experiences