John Reynolds likes to rummage in reference books and celebrate what he finds there in paint. His book of choice here is the ‘Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms’. But where dictionaries impose order on art, Reynolds cheerfully disorders it. He takes terms out of the dictionary and brings them back into the material world, spreading them in silver across more than 1,650 canvases – from ‘abacus’ to ‘zeitgeist’, a mind-bending jumble sale. ‘Table of dynasties’ holds up an unexpected mirror to the Gallery's own collection – a place where ideas and images stack up in unexpected ways.
(Brought to Light, November 2009)

Purchased, 2009
Oil paint marker on acrylic on canvas
2009/017
2009

Collection tags

reference books, squares (geometric figures), words