Jessica Reyes

Jessica Reyes is a Chilean visual artist and art educator. She holds a degree in Visual Arts Education from the Universidad del Bío-Bío (1992) and a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Evaluation from Universidad ARCIS. Her artistic practice is rooted in a sustained dialogue between creation, territory and pedagogy, understanding art as a space for sensitive reflection, cultural memory and critical formation.
Since the early stages of her career, her work has received recognition in significant artistic contexts, including second and third prizes and an Oil Painting Mention at the Annual Visual Arts Salon of the Sociedad de Bellas Artes Tangará (1987, 1988 and 1995). In 1991, she participated in the collective exhibition Painting and Prints from Chillán at the Municipal Museum of Fine Arts of Río Cuarto, Argentina, marking an early step in her international presence.
In recent years, Reyes has consolidated her artistic projection in the field of contemporary watercolor. She was selected for the National Watercolor Competition organized by the International Watercolor Society Chile (2022), the International Contemporary Art Biennial in Cali, Colombia (2022), and the 1st World Watercolor Competition “Watercolor for All” (2022/23), organized by the International Watercolor Society, where three of her works were selected. She also participated in the 1st and 2nd Bi-regional Arts Fair of Universidad del Bío-Bío (2022–2023), presenting a selection of acrylics and watercolors, and was selected for the exhibition celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Chilean Watercolorists Corporation (2023).
Her individual exhibitions include Residencia en esta tierra (Dwelling in This Land), presented at the Art Market Gallery in Chillán, Chile (2022), and later at La Meridiana Gallery of the Società di Belle Arti di Verona, Italy (2023). This project explores the poetic relationship between landscape, memory and belonging, positioning territory as both material and symbolic space. In October 2024, she presented Prima Pelle at the Società di Belle Arti di Verona (Sala Pighi), a watercolor exhibition inspired by the homonymous book by Italian poet Mirko Campara, where image and poetry intertwine to explore nature, identity and intimate experience.
In recognition of her artistic and educational contribution, she received the Award for Transcendence granted to outstanding educators by Fundación Kimen Tremen (2023), as well as the Euro-American Victoria Distinction Award in its 17th edition, Uruguay (2023). Since 2024, she has been a member of the Società di Belle Arti di Verona, Italy.
Parallel to her artistic practice, Reyes has developed a strong pedagogical career as a Visual Arts teacher at Liceo Marta Brunet Caraves in Chillán, Chile, and as an instructor in the Regional FONDART Training Workshops Program (2024–2025), where she has led five watercolor workshops focused on creative processes and community-based artistic education.
In 2025, she presented solo exhibitions at Tránsitos Visuales Gallery, Universidad de Concepción, Chillán Campus (March–May), and at FEDUH Gallery, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Chillán Campus (June), reaffirming a body of work that moves between the intimate and the collective, the pedagogical and the poetic, with watercolor as a central language and territory as a persistent source of inspiration.