Painter, Printmaker, and Textile Artist
Reyna Howkins is a painter, printmaker, and textile artist who has made art since she was a child but has no adult formal art training. She grew in the Philadelphia suburbs, where her mother sent her for private art lessons in addition to the experience she got in school. She took some printmaking and video classes while attending Amherst College, before taking a long break from making art. In the early 2000s, Reyna began taking printmaking classes at Fleisher Art Memorial in South Philadelphia, a community-based art school. She was also hired as an assistant to teach children’s classes there. As a printmaker, Reyna explored experimental techniques and worked with soft ground to build textures. Several years later, Reyna took embroidery with Marie Elcin at Fleisher and found a new medium.
A few years later, Reyna finally tried painting for the first time since high school, through an abstract painting class with Kassem Amoudi. She began by choosing intriguing color combinations and working from abstract photos she had taken of city scenes and shadows. After Kassem’s class, she became fascinated by intuitive painting techniques and loved exploring color. Currently, Reyna is experimenting with new ways to combine her love of many different types of media. She loves to experiment and recently has taken up Gelli plate printing and found object sculpture. Some of her latest paintings even light up!
Reyna volunteers her time for artistic causes and is on the board of The Plastic Club. Her print “Killing Moon” was featured on an album cover of Philadelphia band Later Fortune, whose members include Reyna’s brother Heyward Howkins. Reyna is an avid music lover and names her art pieces after the songs that inspired them.
Listen to a Spotify playlist of songs that I named artwork after.
Artist Statement
I work very intuitively, getting lost in the moment of experimentation and color. I find joy in the process of making art and rarely know how the result will look. I emphasize the art-making process and get into a flow of making marks and then reacting to those marks, attempting to arrive at a piece that evokes a sense of joy in the viewer that echoes my joy in creating it.
Experimentation is what keeps me excited about making art, and I am constantly trying new media and new ways of combining acrylic, alcohol ink, printmaking, and embroidery.
Currently I have also taken up Gelli plate printing and found object sculpture. Some of my latest paintings even light up! I am an avid music lover and name all my paintings and embroidery pieces after the songs that inspire them.
Curriculum Vitae
Prizes
First Prize, Going Rogue, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Sep 10, 2023
Honorable Mention, Plastic Club Members Medal Show, Philadelphia, PA, May 1, 2022
Selected Exhibitions
Two Person Exhibit: Bright is Right - Abstract Paintings by Reyna Howkins and Selene Nunez-Cruz, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, February 1-27, 2022
All You Can Eat, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Sep 8, 2024 – Sep 26, 2024
In the Distance, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Jul 7, 2024 – Jul 25, 2024
110th Members' Medal Show, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, May 5, 2024 – May 23, 2024
Back to Basics, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Feb 4, 2024 – Feb 22, 2024
Under $100, 18th Annual Juried Exhibition, Dirty Franks Off the Wall Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Nov 19 - Dec 29, 2023
Small Worlds 2023, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Dec 3, 2023 – Dec 28, 2023
Beyond the Binary: A Celebration of Gender Identity, Philadelphia City Hall, Philadelphia, PA, November 1, 2023 - January 14, 2024
Going Rogue, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Sep 10, 2023
A Summer’s Tale, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, July 2-27, 2023
Members’ Choice 2023, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, June 4-22, 2023
Fiber, Fabric, and Textiles: In-Person and Online Exhibition, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Apr 2-27, 2023
Annual Juried Show, Powell Lane Arts, Collingswood, NJ, Mar 23 - May 14, 2023
Love’s Great Adventure: In-Person and Online Exhibition, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Feb 1-Feb 28, 2023
SOMETHING BORROWED: In-Person and Online Exhibition, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Aug 31 – Oct 1, 2022
Abstract Summer in the Bob Jackson Gallery, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Jul 4-30, 2022
A Life Aquatic / July In-Person and Online Exhibition, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Jul 3-28, 2022
108th ANNUAL MEMBERS’ MEDAL EXHIBITION / May in-House & online show, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, May 1-31, 2022
Texture Texture Texture In-Person and Online Exhibit, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, March 1-31, 2022
Avant-Garde: Select works by The Women's Caucus for Art Philadelphia, Henry Gallery at Penn State Great Valley, Malvern, PA, Jan 10 - March 16, 2022
Nostalgia In-House/Online Exhibition, The Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Dec 1 – Dec 31, 2021
SMALL WORKS: October In-House/Online Exhibition, The Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Oct 1 – Oct 31, 2021
Creating Space, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, Sep 1, 2021 – Sep 30, 2021
Members Choice In-Person Exhibition, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, August 1 - August 27, 2021
Less is More, More is Less, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, August 9 - November 30, 2021
Derive, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, June 3 - June 20, 2021
Name That Tune, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, May 1- July 31, 2021
Subjective Perspective, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, March 11-28, 2021
Textile, Fabric or Fiber Art: March Online Exhibition, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, March 7 - May 31, 2021
ABOUT FACE, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, February 7 - April 30, 2021
New Members Exhibition 2021 Online Exhibition, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, January 10 - April 8, 2021
SMALL WORKS Online Exhibition, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, December 10, 2020 - March 4, 2021
Light, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, December 3-23, 2020
OBSERVING/BREAKING BOUNDARIES AND LIMITS Online Exhibition, the Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, November 13-February 28, 2020
Craft! - Juried Exhibition, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, September 4-19, 2020
Fluid Transition - Juried Exhibition, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, August 7-28, 2020
Hindsight, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, July 8-26, 2020
12th Annual Jinxed Heart Show, Jinxed Fishtown, Philadelphia, PA, February 8, 2020
Pieces of My HeArt, Avenue Cup Cafe, Philadelphia, PA, February 7-29, 2020
Artist, Reader, Writer II, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, January 29 – February 16, 2020
Transformation, High 5 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, January 3-31, 2020
Perennial Visions II, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, December 1 - December 22, 2019
Under $100, 15th Annual Juried Exhibition, Off the Wall at Dirty Frank’s, Philadelphia, PA, November 10-December 28, 2019
Small Works Exhibition, Deja 42 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, November 9-December 12, 2019
Summer... A Feast for the Senses, DaVinci Art Alliance at Atria, Philadelphia, PA, July 25-August 30, 2019
Art Et Al, DaVinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, April 2019
Women's History Month Exhibit, School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, March 2019
11th Annual Jinxed Heart Show, Jinxed Fishtown, Philadelphia, PA, February 9, 2019
Bridging the Gap: Postcards of the All Nation of Art, AIR Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, February 8— March 10, 2019
NOW! WCA Philly & Women Holler at City Hall, Philadelphia, PA, January 14 - March 22, 2019
Collaborate Craft Change: Juried Craft Market and Residency, CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, December 2018
Solo Exhibition, Original XIII Ciderworks, Philadelphia, PA, August 1 - August 31, 2018
Dear Fleisher, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA, September 2018
Clark Park Festival Art Show, Philadelphia, PA, June 2018
Sympathy for the Bevel, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, March 2005
Dear Fleisher, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA, October 2004
Teaching Experience
Assistant Art Teacher – Children’s Programs, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA, 2004-2006
Bibliography
Collide Zine, Issue Six, Published February 19, 2024.
“Artists in the Time of Coronavirus, Part 3,” Artblog, March 24, 2020
Featured Artist, Absynthe Gallery, April 13, 2020
Featured Artist, Philly Art Jawn, April 16, 2020
Education
Web Design Essentials Certificate, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2014
Associate Degree in Specialized Technology, Multimedia, Philadelphia, PA, 1997
Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies, Amherst College, Amherst, MA, 1994
Associations
Board Member, The Plastic Club, Jan 2022 - present
Former Media Chair, Women’s Caucus for Art Philadelphia Chapter, 2018-2021