Trade is the latest exhibition from seasoned Brisbane artist Bruce Reynolds. Reynolds work has become well known across the country for its documentation of memory, history and time and place. Born and raised in Canberra, his move to Brisbane evoked an awareness of the meticulously planned capital city in comparison to the chaotic and eclectic nature of Brisbane. Using found lino floor surfaces collected from home demolition sites around his suburb of Wynnum and drawing inspiration from the craftsmanship he observed though his father's career as a joiner, Reynolds has developed a practice around the idea and process of “building” a painting. By combining these textured surfaces that have suffered decades of use and abuse, Reynolds weaves together a rich textual history that spans the borders and years – time and place - of our country.
Reynolds accredits the origin of his passion for visual art – and the decision to attend Canberra School of Art - to two great art teachers he had in high school - one a sculptor, the other a Welsh painter. During his year of study at the college, before moving to Melbourne to study at the Victorian School of Art – Reynolds completed a commission for a sculpture fair along with a friend from the school. His recent completion of two large public sculptural commissions - one for the new Brisbane Magistrates Court, and more recently a series of works for The Brisbane Convention Centre – seem to mark a return to the sculptural roots that began Reynolds artistic development and Trade would cement this notion.
Bruce Reynolds, Trade, 2013.
Installation View, Ryan Renshaw Gallery.
Bruce Reynolds, Caravan, 2013.
Detail, Ryan Renshaw Gallery.
Inspired by his recent travels along the Silk Road, this new exhibition is a step away from the traditional two-dimensional lino on board works Reynolds has become synonymous with. The central focus of the exhibition is a precession of small sculptural vehicles entitled Caravan. Designed by Reynolds and constructed on commission, the procession begins with a stainless steel, scaled mock up of a larger work that is now a permeate part of the Gray St landscape, carried by the wheels and frame of an antique carriage. This work alone shows evidence of all the beloved elements of Reynolds practice. His use of found objects continues, effortlessly transfigured to the three-dimensional, and within these found objects the stories and histories that are intrinsic to Reynolds work reside. The large polished item is nod to his recent larger commissions; reminding us of his current practice that is a gem Reynolds is carrying with him along the Silk Road.
Bruce Reynolds, Caravan, 2013.
Detail, Ryan Renshaw Gallery.
The procession continues developing in visual richness with the introduction of more East Asian elements. The forms of the vehicle evoke the journey Reynolds has taken and invite the viewer to follow his trail. Delving deep into the Asian influences, the second caravan, a carved wooden cage, seems to mark the height of Reynolds journey, referencing the vehicles used to transport circus animals along the Silk Road, the sculpture conjures ideas of entertainment heightened with a magical element that parallel the feeling of a traveller in a foreign place. As the procession proceeds, more Australian elements are introduced to the objects, ending in the well-known caravan trailer used for exploring the dusty red highways of the Australian landscape.
Bruce Reynolds, Caravan, 2013.
Detail, Ryan Renshaw Gallery.
This exhibition is centred on the idea of trade, not only of commodities, but ideas and histories, something Reynolds has been subtly been working with throughout his whole practice, though never manifested in such direct forms. He has taken the ideas that originated from his move up the country, from Canberra to Brisbane and applied it on an international scale of travel. Caravan is a continuing project for Reynolds, with many more exciting objects promised to come. With only five exhibited in this show, the journey Reynolds has managed to take his audience on is already so rich in visual content as well as historical and cultural references. The full materialization of this project promises to be something spectacular to behold.
Bruce Reynolds, Trade, 2013.
Installation View, Ryan Renshaw Gallery.
Accompanying Caravan are blue calligraphy like markings scattered across two of the gallery walls. Reynolds himself installed the show, with this process being well-worked. Painting, covering and repainting markings. The ghosts of rejected shapes linger beneath their successors. In his search for spontaneity, the shapes were born from the artists’ mind. Throughout the process rules conquered this impulsive process, dictating the ratio of sharp to organic corners; positive to negative space. In context to the rest of the show, they conjure ideas of language and the artist search for his means of communicating in a world so diverse in ideas and cultures.
Bruce Reynolds, Trade, 2013.
Installation View, Ryan Renshaw Gallery.
Situated on the opposite wall, above the start of the caravan procession is a high relief metallic mirror sculpture. Like a mirror found along train tracks, reflecting the wall markings, viewer and surrounding objects it invites one to reflect and advises of things to come. The three works in this room all speak to each other and seem to form one large installation.
Bruce Reynolds, Trade, 2013.
Installation View, Ryan Renshaw Gallery.
Along with this installation are two wall works located in the adjoining room. More akin with Reynolds practice up until this point the Linoleum and acrylic paint on board act as developmental work to the sculptures in the opposite room. The work Following particularly gives the feeling of a study, with The Three Tenses processing a more resolved ascetic. These works do have an intrinsic beauty that stands on it’s own, however, surrounded by this innovative show, marking a brave new direction for the artist they seem to suffer from the pit falls of the commercial art industry, appearing to be works constructed purely to sell. This fact aside, Trade is a fantastically new and exciting show from Bruce Reynolds. In a globalised world, Reynolds has brought a sense of wonder and magic that surrounds the exotic and unknown. There is something intrinsically human about the story he tells. The trade of ideas from generation to generation, following this journey that human ancestry made many years ago.
Bruce Reynolds, Following, 2013. Bruce Reynolds, The Three Tenses, 2013.
Linoleum and acrylic paint on board. Linoleum and acrylic paint on board.
Ryan Renshaw Gallery. Ryan Renshaw Gallery.
Bibliography
Reynolds, B 2006, Interview in Artist Studio, video recording, viewed 21 April 2013, <http://www.ryanrenshaw.com.au>.
McBride, F 2004, Temperature: Contemporary Queensland Sculpture, Museum of Brisbane, Brisbane.
Snelling, M 2002, Bruce Reynolds: Underfoot, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane.
Martin-Chew, L 2011, 'Bruce Reynolds: Air Percussion', Artlink Indigenous: Beauty and Terror, vol. 31 no. 2, pp. 154.