Mitchell Reece

Anostalgic air wafts from the work of artist Mitchell Reece. It perfumes the psyche with notes of Barbicide—muffler smoke—White Diamonds on church pews. Of collard greens, cornbread and the like. Of dewy grass to be sun kissed…

Mitchell’s summer 2023 exhibition at Sanman Studios— Tears on West Montgomery—may be read as a musing on the aesthetic of family photos. All the things they capture—the sentiments summoned—the memories recalled. They make you miss the good times. They make you think of loved ones long gone. Their smiles immortalized and contained within a frame. Tears tours you through Mitchell’s own photo album. The images found therein are equal parts serene and vibrant. All of them conjuring the pathos of Black life on Houston’s north side – particularly along the Acres Home section of West Montgomery Road, where Mitchell grew up. A perusal through Tears presents you with such scenes: a father and son bonding over their love for baseball (Big Mitch and Lil Mitch); a purveyor of slab culture (Miller on West Montgomery); bald fades on the stoop (Frederick and Maurice 38); and a celebration of mother figures (Matriarchitect II). Tears challenges you to reflect on your upbringing—to dwell on the highs, uncover the lows and celebrate the people that shaped you.

Following his youth on West Montgomery, Reece took that fabled trek through US-290 West – destined for Prairie View A&M University. Graduating in 2013, Reece’s time on the Hill was occupied not only with studies of Mass Communication, but also parlays with PV’s then burgeoning art community.

Post-grad, Reece left Texas for New York City and enrolled at the School of Visual Arts in pursuit of his masters. He earned his MFA in Fine Art and Design in 2019 and began working with the social media department at the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling. Additionally, he freelanced as a graphic designer and taught at The Black School and the Pratt Institute’s Graphic Design program.

Regarding his future as an artist, Mitchell looks forward to doing more shows and community engaged projects:

“I would also like to step back into architecture via the [graphic design] work I’m making now. And using those resources to help the less fortunate. I think art is very helpful as a matter of therapy… I don’t ever want to get to a point where it’s very standoffish and very distant from anyone to have access to.”

Today, Mitchell splits his time between New York City and Prairie View A&M University, where he is a professor with the Digital Media Arts Program.