The pieces of any one artist are often limited to a set of media and particular themes. This makes for an easy association, but there are rare, exceptions to this rule. Artists such as Robert Reynolds appear to evolve with every successive year.
In the 90’s Reynolds endowed a tongue-in-cheek irony to many of his works – as in his series of Madonna paintings juxtaposing the archetypal mother with the Big Mac burger, thus satirizing consumer culture – but this playfulness has waned in lieu of a darker, more poignant, yet equally thought provoking style.
While Reynolds’ Post-modern influence is still present in his works, it takes a back seat to a style most reminiscent to Neo-Expressionism. The dark tones and glaring sense of absence in many of his newer works often send an ominous chill down ones spine.
His “Burning Nails” pair of paintings – one subtitled night, and the other, day – convey an image of loneliness and desolation. For this painting, Reynolds uses the nuclear crisis that occurred after the devastating tsunami in Japan in 2011. Both paintings implement melted nails to depict the devastation a nuclear explosion could have looked like. The arrangement of the nails as hedgerows and a pyre evoke a very post-apocalyptic sentiment. Many pieces such as this are a response to historical events that have helped shape the contemporary zeitgeist.
The BP oil spill is another event in which Reynolds took influence. He has another series of paintings that portray a lush forest setting with a river running through the middle. The painting is very textural, as are many of his recent pieces, and the environment is made entirely of miscellaneous pieces of wood and twigs, giving it a three-dimensional feel.
The paint is used to taint the serene, harmonious scene with a poisonous black color resembling the toxic oil sludge. Only the vanishing point of the painting, containing parts of the forest and river, contain any association with traditional forest color. This section is isolated – cut out, as it were – and exists in its own square of life.
Within this “door to another dimension,” as Reynolds calls it, there are a slew of ambiguities and suggestions. This other dimension could be another, less polluted, and pure environment in which humanity and nature can coexist. But Reynolds’s brought up another suggestion: “I think of pictures coming up on the road, and it’s a drive-in movie.” Obviously, his playfulness is still present in these markedly darker pieces. Although, while playful, this image brings to mind the deteriorating ecosystem of the world, and a grim prospect of reality that plagues humanity as global warming looms and we destroy forests and wildlife. The indiscretions of humanity may ironically lead to watching pristine environments as a construction on a movie screen – one that is in itself dying. This gallery’s paintings are not the only attraction; Reynolds is a multi-faceted artist.
Some of the most interesting pieces of art in the gallery are Reynolds’s various constructions and sculptures. One of his sculptures, though not operating at the time of the visit, is a kinetic sculpture. The piece, entitled “The Faith Machine,” is constructed of three public school desks connected to an old style gigantic bellows. The purpose of the sculpture is to blow smoke from the holes in the chairs, implying the sometimes spurious nature of the education system in the Middle East.
“You know, all the schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan where the kids – eight, nine hours a day – they memorize the Quran. They don’t learn how to read and write; they just memorize the Quran.” The satire ingrained into the sculpture, though directed towards a different region, still resonates here, and brings to mind the failing public education system of the United States.
One cannot help to notice something else as they walk into the gallery: several flying wooden ships. The style is borrowed from the Japanese. Japanese oiled paper umbrellas are donned on every one in place of the sails. The sculptures are funny, but ultimately light and uplifting, bringing a romantically imaginative element to the gallery – a stark contrast to the tone of the other pieces.
The eclectic array of media and themes in Robert Reynolds’ work excites a whole gamut of aesthetic senses and thematic purposes. When asked about his style and influence, he said, “I’m always trying new things. You know, some artists paint the same painting all their lives.” Nothing could ring truer when observing his work. In fact, most of his work incorporates more than just paint and brush. The paintings aforementioned and described have sculptural elements and are essentially mixed media pieces. Even the “The Faith Machine” has an accompanying painting to compliment it and neon signs in Arabic on the desks that read “God is Great.”
Reynolds is accomplished and renown in the art world, and rightly so. Art walkers planning to visit his gallery are in for a treat in proportion with his creative and critical insights on our world. There are multiple dimensions to his work, both literally and metaphorically.
The Robert Reynolds Art Studio and Gallery resides at 408 South Spring St. and is open from 11-6 p.m. Monday thru Friday and 1-9 during the Downtown Art Walk.
By Andrew Mercado
