A Chronological History of Jack Reilly Art |
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Jack
Reilly's career as an artist began in Los Angeles in 1978.
The evolution of his work can be traced back to the mid 1970s when
Reilly studied painting in France at the Paris American Academy.
His early abstract work reflected various influences of prominent
artists of the time including Frank Stella, Elsworth Kelly, Ron
Davis, Jules Olitsky, and Trevor Bell. Each of these painters dealt
with aspects of structure, color and ambiguous space; elements that
would converge in Reilly's early abstract paintings. In 1978, shortly
after
receiving his MFA degree from Florida State
University, Reilly moved to Los Angeles and his art
emerged on the L. A. scene in the form of geometric abstract paintings.
By extracting and redefining certain elements prevalent in contemporary
abstract art, these paintings commented on numerous formal and pictorial
issues of the era. By combining illusionary space with linear structures
and color field painting, Reilly created a unique synthesis of geometric
abstraction and illusive pictorial depth; sometimes refered to as
"Abstract Illusionism." In April 1979 Reilly's work was
exhibited in his first solo show at the Molly Barnes Gallery in
Los Angeles. Simultaneously, USC Fisher Gallery's curator Donald
Brewer included Reilly's painting in a major museum exhibition entitled
"The Reality of Illusion," an international survey of
"Trompe l' oeil" in both abstract and representational
art. The exhibition debuted at the Denver Art Museum and traveled
for two years thereafter, often breaking attendance records at museums
throughout the United States.
(left) Installation view at the Denver Art Museum- Jack Reilly (L),
Vasa (C), and Ron Davis (R).
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By
1980, Reilly's new shaped-canvas
paintings were represented by galleries in major
American cities including the Molly Barnes
Gallery in Los Angeles, Aaron Berman Gallery in New York, Foster
Goldstrom Fine Arts in San Francisco
among others nationwide. Articles and reviews on Reilly's paintings
were subsequently published in Arts Magazine, Artweek, the Los Angeles
Times, and numerous other publications. In 1981 Reilly mounted a
total of five separate solo exhibitions, one of which traveled to
museums and galleries throughout the United States. Important Art
Collectors such as the late Fredrick Weisman and actor Steve Martin
were among the first to acquire Reilly's artwork. It was the
shaped-canvas paintings that launched Reilly into a new realm
of artistic development as he prolifically produced a variety of
compositions based around (what he referred to as) "a series
of pictorial events." These illusionistic paintings seemed
to jump from the wall towards the viewer while ironically
maintaining a sense of static balance. As time progressed, the new
paintings showed increasing deviations away from rigid formal compositions
and theoretical color, towards more expressionistic tendencies.
It was during this extremely prolific period that Reilly would develop
his unique "signature style," consisting of richly colored
line work, that appeared to hover over complex geometric shapes.
For the next few years, Reilly would produce hundreds of paintings
to meet the increasing demand for gallery and museum exhibitions.
Virtually every gallery exhibition was "sold out" to what
appeared to be a seemingly endless number of art collectors in pursuit
of Reilly's paintings. (left) Studio view
with work in progress. |
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In
Fall 1983 the Stella Polaris Gallery in downtown Los Angeles
presented a solo show of Reilly's new "Dimensional
Paintings." Although many collectors seemed weary of the
changes in Reilly's new work, when the reviews came in, the new
large-scale abstractions were met with critical enthusiasm. A
single painting consists of numerous shaped canvases, layered on
top of each other up to five canvases deep. The polyester resin-based
colored sections were created independent from the canvas
structures and later attached with Plexiglas rods that physically
suspended the color an few inches in front of the canvases. There
were still shadows and space, but this time they were real. In 1985
art historian Edward Lucie-Smith included Reilly's new paintings
in his book "American Art Now." Comments by Lucie-Smith
addressed Reilly's approach to the innovative use of mixed-media
materials, combined with a "Baroque restlessness." Subsequently,
the Stella Polaris exhibition and Lucie-Smith's new book sparked
serious interest in Reilly's new dimensional paintings as collectors
soon purchased the entire body of work and numerous exhibitions
followed. (left)
Exhibition view, Los Angeles. |
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There
were always elements of classical art in Jack Reilly's
earlier abstract paintings. His work continuously reflected an affinity
for structure, balance, and visual order. In October 1989, the Boritzer-Gray
Gallery in Los Angeles presented Reilly's "Classic Series"
in a solo exhibition. As the art world was entering a new period
of pluralism, these eclectic paintings, which combined highly-rendered
classical subject matter with geometric abstraction on layered shaped-canvas
structures, were dubbed by one critic as "Quintessentially
Post Modern." This description also seemed to summarize the
plight of many contemporary artist's search for something new and
interesting in a sustained period of artistic pluralism. Reilly's
painting sales remained very active during this period, as many
new collectors entered the market looking for unique and challenging
imagery. For a number of years, Reilly exhibited work that combined
geometric abstraction and material-based, mixed-media painting with
representational subject matter as seen continuing through his "Endangered
Landscape" and "Convergence Series." (left)
"Viewers at Jack Reilly's exhibition: "Convergence Series."
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For Reilly, the 1990s also yielded numerous large-scale
public art and corporate commissions
with major pieces created for the County of San Diego Public Arts
Program and American Airlines at Los Angeles International Airport.
Shortly after completing three large public commissions, there was
a renewed interest in Reilly's abstract paintings based upon the
content of his earlier work. In 1993, Mumsey Nemiroff exhibited
Reilly's newest group of abstract shaped-canvas paintings in her
Los Angeles Gallery. During this prolific
period, Reilly's interests and artwork continued to evolve in scope
with the inclusion of a wider range of artistic media. In addition
to his ongoing work in painting, Reilly expanded his art and experimented
in the realms of film, video and digital imagery. The work was exhibited
internationally and subsequently led to numerous awards for experimental
media and emerging digital art.
(left) Public Art Commission for San Diego
County, 10x40 ft., 4000 lbs. Enamel on 4 steel panels. |
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In
Reilly's "New
Abstraction" series (2006-2008),
each
painting consists of thousands of brushstrokes on a shaped canvas
structure. A huge range of colors, based on both intuitive and theoretical
color systems, are painted in acrylic polymers and compressed into
multiple linear compositions that echo and interact with the shape
of the canvas. Reilly's signature brushwork, that originated in
his early 1980's abstract paintings, brings to mind complex mosaics
while the natural viscosity of the paint (which he compares to freshly
melting ice cream) creates sensual textured surfaces that draw in
the viewers extremely close to the paintings to inspect the rich
array of colors.
The visual effect and surface quality of Reilly's new paintings
is somewhat reminiscent
of nineteenth century pointillism, while
his shaped compositions and rapid brushwork redefine painterly divisionism
within a contemporary context.
As we enter the new millennium, Jack Reilly remains an extremely
prolific painter and continues to explore new ideas in 21st century
contemporary art. In addition to maintaining an active career as
a painter, Reilly is the Chair of the Art Department at California
State University Channel Islands.
" Challenging traditional boundaries and breaking with convention
is the real business of today's artist." Jack Reilly
(left) Studio view with new paintings. |
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