John Reynolds
b. 1956, lives and works in Auckland, NZ
John Reynolds has an expansive practice, working across painting, sculpture and installation, and collaborating in fields of architecture, fashion, music, publishing and television. Reynolds’ first exhibition with McLeavey Gallery in Wellington was a joint exhibition with Julian Dashper in 1983. Language, both mundane and transcendent, features heavily in Reynolds practice, as do sketches, plans and charts, expressive marks and patterns. Nicolas Stevens writes, “In the work of John Reynolds the world is an immense web of connections and relationships, resonating with meanings and associations. It is a rich and mysterious place where history and philosophy are in the air.”
Reynolds is the recipient of a Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand and a member of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Foundation. He was a finalist in the Walters Prize, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki in 2002 and 2008. Significant solo exhibitions and projects include The Violet Hour, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland (2019); The Falls, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin (2019); Epistomadologies, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki (2015); NOMADOLOGY [Loitering with Intent], Govett Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth (2010); Ritual Flowers, Centre for Contemporary Art, Hamilton (1992); Big Drawings 1981-1986, Centre of Contemporary Art, Hamilton (1986). Reynolds was included in the exhibitions Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington (2015); Lines across the ocean, MOCA, Santiago (2013); Kermadec, Maritime Museum, Auckland & City Gallery Wellington (2012); Dorothy Napangardi / John Reynolds, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (2009); Zones of Conflict, 15th Biennale of Sydney (2006); Nine Lives: The Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki (2003).
Reynolds work is held in public and private collections throughout Aotearoa including the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Chartwell Collection, the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, The Dunedin Public Art Gallery and The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. He is represented by Starkwhite, Auckland and McLeavey Gallery, Wellington.
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A Moment in Time: Dashper, Reynolds, Maddox
Celebrating the Chartwell Collection 24 Aug - 14 Sep 2024 OnehungaLast year, The Chartwell Collection invited Galleries across Aotearoa to participate in a yearlong celebration of their 50th Anniversary. Fittingly, their initiative put the focus on artists and highlighted the...Read more -
Dashper / Reynolds
13 Jun - 7 Jul 2012 Auckland CityIn 1984 new works by Julian Dashper and John Reynolds were exhibited together at a gallery in Wellington. At the time it was noted that these works were “about living in New Zealand and living in the world at the same time. There is simultaneously order and disorder. Everything is in motion, and to survive change we abstract our experience. We reflect ourselves back on the world according to the abstractions we have made.” (Virginia Were, Art NZ “John Reynolds/Julian Dashper”, Autumn 1985. Number 34. P.17)Read more
Nearly thirty years later this exhibition Dashper / Reynolds brings together works by these artists from this period and contemplates their relationship at a specific point in their careers. The pairing considers the rapport of two diverse artists, both of whom are significant figures in New Zealand art history in their own right, working in common territories. Naturally, over time their careers have diverged and such a pairing of newer work may not be so immediately palpable. Dashper, who passed away in 2009, is widely known for his contribution to abstraction, conceptualism and minimalism while Reynolds more recent works are largely text based such as his 2008 Walters Prize Nomination work Cloud.
