FST StudioProjects Fund

IN THE STUDIO WITH JOHN REYNOLDS

2024 FST StudioProjects Fund recipient, American artist John Reynolds (b. 1985, lives and works in New York) welcomes us in his white-walled studio in Bed-Stuy to discuss his highly saturated landscape-inspired paintings.

edited by Myriam Erdely, May 2025

Having won a grant from the FST StudioProjects Fund in 2024, which was created by Frederieke Sanders Taylor, in order to help artists defray the cost of their studios in New York City, how has the FST StudioProjects Fund grant changed your practice? 

The FST StudioProjects Fund has granted me extensive time in the studio. Time is the most important, yet elusive thing! Working as a painter and a recent MFA grad, I have lived in a very hand-to-mouth kind of way. I piece together an income through part-time work for other artists, teaching painting courses, and selling my own work. Half of my time is spent figuring out how to spend the other half of my time painting. I’m always scheming about how to afford the studio!  The FST StudioProject Fund was recommended to me by a friend, and I was happy to hear about it. When I was awarded the grant, I was literally jumping up and down! Receiving this opportunity has allowed me to cover my monthly studio rent and build a whole new body of work, which I got to feature in the art gallery at Wave Hill in the Bronx this spring. It’s been a true gift!

That’s amazing to hear and relates to Frederieke Taylor’s devoted patronage!
Where did you grow up and could you tell us what are some of your influences?

I grew up in Indianapolis and moved to New York almost two decades ago. New York always represented a creative world that I didn’t have access to where I came from. When I moved here in my early twenties, I started working in the advertising world to support myself. I was painting any chance that I had.  

I’ve always been obsessed with art history. Some of my early icons were Cezanne, Monet, O’Keefe, and other artists working with nature. I even did a little pilgrimage to see Cezanne’s studio in college. I loved to see painters’ interpretations of nature and the unique visual language that they mastered. Recently, I went to Mexico City and was struck by the in-person experience of encountering the exuberant works of Kahlo, Siqueiros, Rivera, Orozco, and Tamayo. I love that political art can be so magnificent and awe-inspiring. The tension between utopian and dystopian visions is something that I also try to play with in my own work.  

What materials do you use in your work and how is your studio space?

I work in oil paint, using highly saturated palettes to create intimate and colorful paintings from my personal memories, musings on futurity. I believe that joyful creation is a radical act in the era of climate crisis and global political turmoil. I have to admit that there’s also an escapist component for me. My subjects include stars, bodies of water, buildings, and trees, while my canvases aim to balance idyllic and perilous worlds. Abstracted landscapes are filled with expressionistic forms, playful shifts in perspective, tranquil compositions, and a mixture of earthen and vibrant color palettes.

Because I’m a painter who works primarily in oil, having the proper studio set up is so important for me. Large white walls, good lighting, and accessibility are critical. My studio is located in Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn, about 15-20 minutes from my apartment. Ironically, my work is landscape-inspired, even though I’m working in the middle of a concrete jungle. I use a lot of reference images, work from photos, referencing art history, and rely on my imagination. I’m also surrounded by other artists in my building, which adds a lot of value for me. It’s encouraging to be around other artists who are so engaged in their own practice and to be in that community. 

What are you mostly focused on these days?

Lately, I’ve been contemplating our dependence on screens. Even when I try to consciously be offline, I often feel an automatic impulse to reach for my phone! I imagine that many people feel this way and would probably like to have more control over our dependence. So, I attempt to emulate the screen with my colorful paintings and prime my canvases with radiant pink to maximize the effect. The rich colors react against the primer to create a glow. Often, I borrow reference images from video games to infuse into the settings that I create. Video game designers often borrow from painting for inspiration, and I like the idea of images being processed from canvas to screen to canvas again.

Could you share with us a few projects you are working on now?

I have just completed a new series in a whirlwind of a few months. That work has just been exhibited at Wave Hill in the Bronx, where I also did a two-month residency. Putting together a show at breakneck speed is a vulnerable and rewarding experience! Now, I’m excited to hide out in my studio and spend a few months being more experimental. It’s always best for me to do that part of my practice in private because I have the privilege of being able to mess things up, and to not feel so precious about the outcome. I think that’s an important component of growth for me.