Reen Barrera

Reen Barrera was born in Paris, France, and raised in the Philippines. As a child, the artist would repair wood carvings in church and began collecting wood scraps to make toys. Barrera would subsequently begin to collect various found materials, such as cardboard and paper, to create his own toys and figurines. This experience would later prove crucial to his later artistic career.

Inspired by his “toy deprived” childhood, Reen repurposes found materials into mixed media figurative sculptures and paintings. The facial expressions and symbols and patterns in the artist’s Ohlala characters are drawn from the idiom “it’s written all over your face” and represent the power individuals have in designing their own fate. Barrera’s work provides a provocative conversation on the challenges of socio-economic circumstances and classism.

In recent years, the artist has presented his works at solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia.