Inaugural Reflectionism exhibit debuts at Dallas flagship Samuel Lynne Gallery
Edit: The previous version of this article stated there were eight artists at first mention and nine in later mentions. There are nine artists in the exhibit. Clarifications were made on contributing artists and a general description of the gallery overall at the end of the article.
Twenty-five years after JD Miller started building oil paint up off the canvas, the movement he founded gets its first exhibition with all nine artists present. The Inaugural Reflectionist Exhibition opens Saturday, September 12, at the Samuel Lynne Galleries flagship in the Design District and runs through October 10.
Reflectionism is a school of thought turned art movement. In this case, paint is not applied to the canvas, it is built, layered with palette knives until the surface becomes sculptural and the canvas stops being a window and becomes an object. You have to experience these paintings live to see the full effect.
During a preview of the exhibit, JD Miller— co-owner of the gallery and founder of Reflectionism— shared what inspired the art movement, the artists involved, and why it took 25 years to acknowledge it as a movement rather than just a school of thought.
"I'm a student of art history, just starting it, I felt like someday it would become a true art movement, but it takes time, it takes additional artists," Miller says. "So by myself, I didn't call it a movement, but I definitely defined it with 3D oil, reflecting energy, and all that."
Nodding to the philosophical aspect of the movement called the Reflectionist Principle (whatever energy humans put out is reflected back by the universe); each artist is encouraged to pour positive energy into their paintings.
The exhibit features nine artists from around the country with works ranging from photography to sculptures and paintings that give the illusion of motion. Best experienced up close and personal.
This is the first time all nine artists are meeting each other at once, in the same room at the same time.
The featured artists in the exhibit are: founding artist JD Miller, acclaimed restaurateur and entrepreneur Philip Romano, psychotherapist and painter Lea Fisher, painter Carrie Cameron, historical fiction novelist and artist Sharon Virts, artist Renea Menzies, painter Sue Yu Petty, contemporary abstract painter Kelly Hrad, and contemporary artist Tanner Lawley.
Created in 2001, this is the 25th anniversary of Miller creating Reflectionism, a result of experimentation with thick layers of oil paint reflecting light and colors from different angles. It took lengthy research and studying other artists across the world before he could claim it, plus help from Miller's artist mentor, Liz Richardson.
The two oldest paintings in the room
The earliest works on the walls are from 1998, three years before Reflectionism had a name.
That year Miller went looking for a teacher and found Liz Richardson, an 88-year-old Dallas colorist and a member of the Royal Academy of London, known for her palette knife work. He had never seen a painting knife before he met her. She made him sit through six months of her weekly lectures before she granted him a private lesson, then painted for four hours in front of him while she talked through every decision she made.
He went home that night and painted “Costa Rica Red Roof.”
Both canvases are in the exhibition: her “Golden Aspen on a Summer Day,” and his, made hours later. Miller has kept them for 28 years. Hanging them side by side makes the point the rest of the show is built on: this is something one artist handed to another.
Building the Movement and the Next Generation
"Over the next 25 years, other people referred to it as a movement, but we were careful not to say that ourselves until we were ready." "It is moving within us, it is moving out from us, and my belief is that it actually will contribute to the evolution of art history," Miller says. "But that's for others to decide."
Miller says he personally instructed each one of them in the art style, something he says only took about one or two lessons with most before they took off.
"This year, I realized that this is the time, and I reached out to everybody and we did our research and we believe that this not only is a movement, it's already happening, but it's time to share with the world," Miller says. "But it's time to let you decide. We're also already passing it on to the next generation."
What Miller hopes visitors leave with from the experience? A sense of joy.
Samuel Lynne Galleries, which is based in Dallas with other locations in Houston and Chicago, was opened by JD Miller and Philip Romano (Nick & Sams, Eatzis) in 2008. The name is a combination of both of the owner's children's middle names, which they say "it's all about family".
Many of the artists in the gallery (not in this exhibit, just the gallery itself) are internationally recognized, such as Brandon Boyd of the rock band Incubus, photographer Tyler Shields, and Roman Feral, who creates art with real butterflies.
Comments