I couldn’t be more pleased that I’ve had my portrait, Boy with Ukulele, selected for exhibition with this year’s Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London, UK. The society informs me that they received a record number of entries this year, so my inclusion feels all the more rewarding.
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ Annual Exhibition opens
6-15 May 2021
11am – 4pm
Boy with Ukulele, oil on panel, 16” x 20” © Shannon Reynolds 2020
Eclectic Inheritance: a treasury in still lifes
Too often the objects we inherit languish in dusty cupboards, in drawers or basements, forgotten and unappreciated. After years spent renovating my Victorian house, I found myself unpacking my own inherited trove. These were items that had escaped Marie Kondo style sweeps--escaped because they were storied and often beautiful, because they were tokens of my history and sparked, if not precisely joy, then at least a strong urge to paint. Many of these inherited objects seem out of step with today’s pared down aesthetic. I believe our collective rush to simplify is a style preference of necessity, an admission that a flourish, a gilded edge, a fluted piece of moulding, a hand-painted surface is an extravagance we no longer afford ourselves. But as a painter, it’s the extravagant and historical that so often draws my eye. In these still life paintings, the idea of inheritance extends beyond my home to other things I value: the inherited plants in my garden, the heirloom produce at the market, the chrysanthemums grown by a dahlia society to preserve unusual cultivars, the fountains and flowers in public parks and gardens, the public gardens themselves. These things are small tokens of a collective culture, of human endeavour, of civilization itself. These paintings depict my own modest treasury, but I hope they will resonate with anyone who has ever been charmed by the gilded rim of porcelain tea cup or the curve of a table leg.
— Shannon Reynolds
The paintings in this series are available at Village Studios, 24 Downie St. Stratford Ontario from June 27th, 2020.
