AS I AM consists of a suite of paintings from the artist's first solo exhibition at Spinello Projects in 2020, AT THE FEET OF MOUNTAINS, and two new large-scale commissioned paintings, using historic images and people present in his life to juxtapose the past and present.
One of the new commissioned paintings, AS I AM, creates a thread of different people in different parts of Miami across time. Two different black and white images capture historic people, children from Overtown on the left and wealthy pioneer Bahamians in Coconut Grove on the right. Contrasted in the foreground a modern man stands with his back to viewers of the painting.
The second of the commissioned painting, My Father, Lil Pat, and Our Ancestors, speaks to the thirteenth amendment in the constitution which states, “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” This is the artist's father, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence, holding his second cousin, and, in the background, their ancestors. This painting not only reflects the commonalities between the prison industrial complex and slavery in America, but it also represents the resilience of existing and thriving despite cycles of displacement, extraction, and violence.
Reginald O’Neal is a painter whose artwork reflects on his experiences in his Miami neighborhood. He states, “my desire is to embrace the unappreciated, defaced and misrepresented, as well as illustrate the true beauty within my community. It is for people looking from the outside, but mainly a mirror for residents of the community to see ourselves for who we are."
Image 1:
Reginald O'Neal
My Father, Lil Pat, and Our Ancestors, 2021
Oil on canvas
120h x 168w in
Image 2:
Reginald O'Neal
As I Am, 2021
Oil on canvas
108h x 210w in
Reginald O'Neal b. 1992, Miami, Florida
Reginald O’Neal (L.E.O.) lives in Miami, Fl. O'Neal has completed murals throughout Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean. His work is held in the collections of Perez Art Museum Miami, the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, the Rubell Collection, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, and Oolite Arts. O'Neal is a recipient of the South Florida Cultural Consortium in 2019 and has participated in residencies in Spain, Japan, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and Bed Stuy Residency.
Spinello Projects is a Miami-based contemporary art program founded in 2005. It is a gallery, creative space, and an innovative platform for nomadic site-specific and curatorial projects. Follow us here▸
