Reginald Sylvester II (b. Jacksonville, NC, 1987) is based in in Jersey City. Sylvester II creates large-scale paintings and sculptures that trace the generative threshold between the two mediums. Working predominantly in abstraction, he expands the language of his painting practice by incorporating materials such as rubber, tarp, aluminium and steel. His singular approach lends his paintings a sculptural presence and imbues his sculptures with a painter’s sensibility.

While grounded in traditional painting techniques, Sylvester II ventures beyond the conventions of stretched canvas, working on surfaces that both absorb and reject paint. His layered, often multi-partite works investigate the language of his chosen mediums: stretcher bars are left exposed, becoming part of his compositions, while oxidised and patinated metal surfaces evoke the histories of gestural painting. Sylvester II also transcends the surface, creating monumental sculptures that reference forms observed through painting and from his environment.

The artist is drawn to materials that relate to his personal history, spirituality, or broader societal narratives. In his approach to assemblage, Sylvester II appropriates byproducts of his making process, physically attaching studio debris to works to enrich their tactile quality and textural narrative.

Solo exhibitions include Until Then, Maximillian William, London, UK (2026); On the Other Side of Languish, Limbo Museum, Accra, Ghana (2025); Groanings Which Cannot Be Uttered, Institute of Contemporary Art Chattanooga, Tennessee, US (2024); T‑1000, Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, US (2023); Green Gate, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, US (2023); and CUTS, Maximillian William, London, UK (2022).

Group exhibitions include Beyond Boundaries: Black Abstraction, curated by Dr. Anita N. Bateman, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Charlotte, US; Hyphen American: Intersections of Identity, organised by Christian Wurst, Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln, US (2026); A Meadow in the Clouds, curated by Allison Glenn, The Shepherd, Detroit, US (2026); The Spirituality of Color, Gladwell Projects, New York, US (2025); Noctis Imago, François Ghebaly, Los Angeles, US (2025); and Beyond the Frame: Abstraction Reconstructed, a two-person exhibition with Denzil Hurley, CANADA Gallery, New York, US (2025).

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