Robert Reynolds’ First Language — Art

PHOTOS AND STORY BY LESLEY ROY

T hree years ago a dear friend approached Robert Reynolds asking him to open an art gallery on Orange Street in New Haven. The Reynolds Fine Art gallery in 9th Square is an anchor in the community, helping secure the neighborhood’s reputation as an arts district. With 30 years of painting experience, Reynolds thought it would be fun to show work he admired as well as work of his own.

Walking into the gallery, it’s easy to gravitate to the atmospheric landscapes and abstract impressionistic artwork of Robert Reynolds even before knowing a single thing about the creator. The artwork is compelling and raises the question; what attracts us to any given piece of art? Why are we drawn to it? If a work of art is compelling, we eventually come to ponder this, “why.”

Reynolds creates art everyday in his Branford studio and has done so for the past 15 years. The small freestanding building conceals a treasure trove: paintings, sculptures, massive slabs of wood, a printing press with metal cylinders from a nuclear submarine, easels everywhere, sawdust, ancient door locking mechanisms from Turkey, and other anomalies including a vintage toaster collection, and 257 tubes of endemic toothpaste. Robert Reynolds is at play; and this is not his studio —this is his laboratory. Alchemy comes to mind as he searches through his space; exploring amidst cans of paint, stacks of painted canvases, tubes of pigment and bouquets of brushes in coffee cans. With childlike exuberance, Reynolds demonstrates the creative process with a Matabo handheld angle grinder; sparks flying, wood chips hurtling through the air, while talking about how crazy cool it was growing

Dave Thomas spends countless hours creating striking works of art. The painting, “Gift of the Morning” is an inspired piece incorporating such powerful archetypal imagery as: a skull floating above a pair of hands —a nod to fleeting mortality, a blazing-red Japanese sun — symbolic of a new day, and chrysanthemum flowers —representing the cycles of life and death

Reynolds’ use of color and paint are his self-proclaimed “first language.” “Red Birds” is a vivid example of “capturing extraordinary beauty in the midst of bad news,” a modern interpretation of the ancient art of augury. Through the gift of his first language, Reynolds tells the story of a dear friend’s triumph over adversity.

Reynolds points to the fine detailed stippling on a print of his first oil painting, done on a piece of galvanized metal, while he was living in Italy. At the time, “people loved them so much I made prints of the originals and sold them to make ends meet.”

“Empire”— oil on linenMoving from home at the age of 15, Reynolds finished high school then took off, following no prescribed course of formal art study; instead learning from his adventures

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up digging for arrowheads and artifacts on nearby marshy Indian sites.

Moving from home at the age of 15, Reynolds finished high school then took off, following no prescribed course of formal art study; instead learning from his adventures in the world and the artists he encountered along the way.

Reynolds biked thousands of miles across much of Europe, the United States, North Africa and assorted islands. If not on wheels, he is soaring on wings —hang gliding, another lifelong passion. This movement of life is directly applied to linen canvases with paint and brush. Color glides through air and land; frequent water elements provide flow. Movement is the key to Reynolds’ life and much of his artwork.

Monthly visits to Bermuda, summers in Turkey, and always a bike, a sketch book and a small green tin of art supplies he proudly displays, “I bought this in 1972 for twenty-five cents and it’s been with me everywhere I go ever since.”

The world is filled with excitement and Robert Reynolds has, and will continue to extract, his share of thrills along the way, directly translating those experiences

into art. An epic collection of 65 vest-pocket-sized books—totaling more than 5,000 lifetime sketches, is the result of years of extensive travel. The images provide inspiration for every painting and sculpture created. A 1997 self-published book titled “Listen: Ninety-Two Drawings,” holds a fraction of these spontaneous renderings. Sketching every day is routine,

spending every moment in the act of creating or promoting the arts and artists is at the forefront for Reynolds.

From childhood, Reynolds’ love of images—photography, color, and painting, set him on a path of thrilling adventure and creative output. Circling back to art, he touches on adventure as a driving force and creating art as an exploratory process.

One of Reynolds’ first memories of mark-making was as a very young boy tagging along with his father working construction. He remembers using a 16 penny nail to carve patterns deeply into pieces of wood and even earlier, using a rock to draw images onto the pavement. After WWII, his dad also moonlighted as a photographer. Reynolds grew up spending time in the dark room, helping develop black and white photos. Watching the images appear swirling around in the photographic solution was magical. His mother, a talented artist of “plein air” or “open air” painting, is a prolific creator in her own right. Reynolds watched in amazement as she mixed colors. “Watching my mother paint was total magic— you take this color and mix it with that and get this other color—that was totally mind boggling as a child.” Concluding, “I grew up seeing images in two ways…one in which images magically appeared and the other with images developing on canvas…both total magic.” This duality informs Reynolds’ artwork in beautifully complex ways as he translates what is seen, and develops what is unseen.

Reynolds has exhibited his artwork from San Francisco to Madison Avenue and numerous places in between that he can’t be bothered to remember, laughing, “my work once hung next to a Matisse.” Decades of prolific painting and countless sales of artwork to a variety of private collectors, from bedrooms to board rooms, throughout the United States and abroad, proves Reynolds a secure and accomplished artist.

Robert Reynolds has traveled a long road of discovery and exploration— art has been his

“Red Cliffs”—oil on linen. Reynolds biked thousands of miles across much of Europe, the United States, North Africa and assorted islands. If not on wheels, he is soaring on wings —hang gliding. This movement of life is directly applied to linen canvasses with paint and brush. Color glides through air and land; frequent water elements provide flow. Movement is the key to Reynolds life and artwork.

One of Reynolds’ first memories of mark-making was as a very young boy tagging along with his father working construction. He remembers using a 16 penny nail to carve patterns...

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vehicle. There can be no doubt that this accomplished artist is a master of many mediums.

Reynolds jumps up to find a print of his first oil painting, done on a piece of found galvanized metal, while living in Italy. Once located, he points to the fine detailed stippling as proof of his initial technical skill. At the time, “people loved them so much I made prints of the originals and sold them to make ends meet,” emphasizing the road to being an artist is a hard one. When asked what advice he would impart to artists starting out he says, “Don’t work for anyone else’s world!” Another pearl of wisdom, “Mistakes are a better teacher than anyone can show you,” Reynolds continues, “artists today don’t know

how to make mistakes — they’re taught to succeed and please the teacher or their clientele —if they’re off the path, they won’t get validation, and they’ll just go back to what they know works.”

He describes art scenes in certain places as more of a social scene, not a true art scene. “I don’t care about what a lot of people care about.” When it comes to a discussion of art critique, Reynolds is clear, “there are no words in my work - I don’t have to worry about Art Speak—they’re all meaningless and absurd; no one understands it, and I can’t even read it to impress my friends.” He is on a roll as he continues, “It’s like a half-Japanese user manual for art that’s not for humans — it doesn’t say anything.”

Covered in sawdust, arms flying, Reynolds recommends the Art Speak Generator, urging, “you have to check it out.” Later, I googled Art Speak Generator, entered 5 numbers as directed, and created an instant art critique phrase: “With regard to the issue of content, the reductive quality of the gesture endangers the devious simplicity of the exploration of montage elements.” This illustrates Reynolds’ point.

Robert Reynolds does care deeply about the things in life that matter most: loved ones and long-time friendships that provide the bedrock of life; describing art as critical, healing, and explanatory. For him, it speaks to the larger question “Why is a human here?”

Moving along his adventurous path, Reynolds has found the freedom to explore and express his inner vision. Reynolds turns to the painting, “Red Birds” to illustrate his meaning. He tells the story of sitting on sand dunes when a dear friend told him that she had stage-four cancer. He describes the moment in great detail as a revered Roman Augur might, interpreting the flight direction of the birds, the sheer numbers, what noises they were making —a process know as “taking the auspices.” In ancient times, human beings were more closely connected to nature in ways that linger on in our modern language. The word “inauguration,” from the Latin augur, refers to the rituals of Roman priests interpreting bird activity, determining if it was the will of the gods for a public official to assume office. Sitting on the beach that day, in that “auspicious” moment, how could Robert and his friend have known that against all odds the birds would portend that she would go on, beat cancer, and live a vibrant life?

Red Birds is a striking work of art. Why is it compelling—why does it draw the viewer in? Perhaps the “why” is imbued in the near-archeological layers of paint on canvas. Reynolds has brought that unseen moment to life: the spectacular collisions of emotions and creativity, a perfect example of capturing the moment, “of hearing bad news but seeing extraordinary beauty at the same time.” Reynolds recreates a moment that opens for the viewer, the opportunity to retrace the emotional footsteps in all our lives and excavate personal meaning.

These expressions, through color and paint, are his self-proclaimed “first language” —and speech his second. Robert Reynolds’ first language of paint, color, and image is a vibrant layering of life over life.

To view Robert Reynolds artwork and the artists represented by Reynolds Fine Art, visit the www.reynoldsfineart.com/gallery

“Crete” —oil on linen: Reynolds has traveled a long road of discovery and exploration— art has been his vehicle.  Color applied in near-archeological layers of paint reflects a vibrant layering of life over life.