Vestiges

Shawn Reynar’s current work explores the connections between traditional media and how it interfaces with digital technologies specifically aimed at the growing vocabulary of print-based processes. As a springboard for the creation of these abstract works, his research explores the history of mark-making and the notion of digitally generated lines in relation to medical disorders that affect motor skills required for precision work. There is a great deal of uncertainty with regard to both the etiology and diagnosis that surround these ailments. Motor coordination is an essential element required in our daily activities. As an artist, dexterity and skill are parallel to one’s drive and focus. He is interested in the character and quality of the image that comes from these explorations. This is translated and evidenced in the imagery by the peculiarity of mark and line, which connotes both the artists’ struggle and determination; as well as the tension between the seemingly spontaneous, and elements that are composed with control and reticence.

Electronic mediation enabled by newer technologies both shapes and informs my process. Using digital tools as aids, Reynar’s work is built up in layers where linear elements, geometry and symmetry, are embedded and superimposed on open and fluid spaces. While the use of digital applications has become a significant component of his practice, it is important that his own hand can be seen in the work. He is interested in the disjunctive qualities of analogue and digital print processes when they are combined, and the potential point at which they converge and become symbiotic.

Shawn Reynar holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Print Media from Concordia University, Montreal, QC. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University in Halifax, NS, as well as having studied at Langara College in Vancouver, BC. Most recently, he was an artist in residence at Towson University in Maryland. Reynar has been recognized with various awards and grants for his print-based work including a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grant and a John B. Aird Award for printmaking. His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Canada and the United States.