Finding meaning from thousands of pieces

Looking closer at the work of Trey Reis will reveal the fundamental aspects of collage work. Little pieces cut from their original place and repurposed into a larger piece. A theme of color interweaving the piece together. Something more made from something else.

The Creston Arts Gallery in the Restored Depot has enjoyed the work of Reis since the start of June in an exhibit called “Recontextures,” showcasing large-scale paper collage works as well as smaller, unnamed pieces which experiment with the techniques Reis has learned.

Reis will have a closing reception for the exhibit from 6-8 p.m. Friday, June 27, at the Restored Depot.

Making collage work has always come naturally to Reis, and ever since he moved to Des Moines 10 years ago, he said he’s spent the last decade taking it seriously.

“Finding something in a magazine or a book, a piece of color, a piece of texture, and taking away their original context and original process,” Reis said. “It’s this thing unique to collages. That’s what I want to explore in these pieces.”

Alongside visual art, Reis runs the music label Warm Gospel and has created visual work for his music.

Recontextualization is at the core of Reis’s pieces. The larger pieces were made over the past eight years, while the 10 smaller pieces were made in anticipation of the Creston gallery over the past six months.

The name of the exhibit, “Recontextures,” comes from the combination of two words, recontext and texture. These paper collages allow for a repurposing of original material into something completely new.

Differences between the two types of pieces come from the visibility of the original collage material. Artistic experimentation is at the core of both.

“I wanted to do something different with the smaller pieces,” Reis said. “You can pick out individual things. Some of the larger pieces, I wanted to decontextualize the pieces so when you’re looking at them it’s disconnected. ... What collage really makes you do, it kind of meshes all of these things, using tons and tons of individual pieces to make each piece large.”

Each piece is made up of thousands of smaller paper cutouts. Reis said these different textures and the labor associated with forming them together creates a unique blend of traditional techniques and abstraction.

When designing a piece, Reis said he sees his collages in a few ways. The materials he chooses, which range from railroad tracks, diagrams of human anatomy and other flora and fauna, can come together in unique ways.

In regards to the shapes these collages form, Reis says there’s an examination of Iowa landscapes in the work. Connecting his art to nature is a vital way of interpreting what he creates.

“Landscape is always rooted in nature,” Reis said. “I really wanted to explore the notion of landscape, but less of the definition as a nature scene, more of the landscape as what it feels to be alive right now.”

Living in today’s world is chaotic to Reis, and part of the appeal of collages is creating an expression of the chaos he sees around him. Support for his exhibits partially comes from the National Endowment of the Arts, which has seen changes in recent months.

“It was an interesting time to receive that grant,” Reis said. “Essentially, the funding period was January through June. There’s a community workshop which went through that; it was very interesting to speak with other artists. I spoke with the Iowa Arts Council if this grant will be available next year. So much of this is just, who knows? The future is a question mark.”

Yet, even living through a time of chaotic change, Reis said handling the emotions which come from this time is also reflected in his pieces.

“You can probably look at the collages one of two ways,” Reis said. “You could break down them simply as pessimism and optimism. Despite everything, the flora and natural life is breaking through the cracks and growing. Pessimistic people might see it as choking out. Ideally, the pieces would have a balance, what you or a person is feeling, they could see either direction on those.”