Friday in the City – Robin Reynolds at Prince Street Gallery
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| Robin Reynolds, Elisabeth's Flowers, 46x46, oil mounted on board |
The most fantastic paintings are the ones in which the
process is transparent, the mark making is sincere, and bold color is
celebrated. Robin Reynolds’ paintings at
Prince Street Gallery were all of those things.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the elevator was the
saturated color in the abstracted square compositions of Reynolds’ garden
paintings.
The printed card does not show in any way the vibrancy of
the permanent rose, red, and pinkish tangerine marks, or the cobalt strokes
glowing against an emerald field. The
color is fresh and bright and had the hands of Reynolds masterful eye for color
theory, the paintings have a dramatic impact.
The connectivity and interplay between neutrals and whites, cozying up
to carefully calibrated complimentary colors appears to have been as much fun
for Reynolds to paint as it is to see in person. Upon closer inspection, the luminosity of the
color was enhanced by the glossy and liquid texture of the paint. Of all paint textures, glossy and liquid are
my favorite! The color glowed from the
inside giving the paintings a masterful dual sense of light. The transparency of the energetic and lithe
gestured marks was fascinating because, underneath, linear, charcoal flowers
bloom, giving the viewer a window in which to see Reynolds’ process. The beautiful and fresh integration of
drawing and painting elements are refreshing and exciting!
The square compositions, many on stretched paper, were composed
from Reynolds’ observation of the garden just outside her back door, in her
backyard. The concept of finding the
source for the academic investigation and the exploitation of the fundamental
elements to make great art just outside your backdoor is something I find to be
irresistibly attractive. The texture of
a paper ground, in lieu of canvas, was also gorgeous.
I am a little late in writing this and the show is down
already but more information can be found at RobinReynolds.com.
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