In the late 1970s, Jack Reilly broke into the Los Angeles art scene with abstract paintings that depicted light, space, and geometric structure. A subsequent series of museum and gallery exhibitions led to him being recognized as an origional members of the Abstract Illusionism movement, and as one of the foremost artists working in shaped canvas today. Throughout the years, Reilly has maintained an affinity for working with shaped canvas, complex visual systems, and meticulous technique. His paintings are exhibited in galleries and museums internationally and included in numerous public and private collections.
Abstract Work - Major Periods
Trilogy Series: (2019 current experimentation) Geometric, shaped-canvas paintings incorporate an illusionistic three-panel format that justapose contrasting abstract genres and application methods. High-key color systems consisting of harde edge, color field, and expressive brushwork result in a trilogy of visual and conceptual approaches to contenporary abstract painting. The Basic Object: (2006-2014) Two-dimensional surfaces take on ambiguous characteristics of three-dimensional objects, as illusionary shaped canvases straddle the line between painting and sculpture. Densly textured brushstrokes are organized in linear formats based on mathematical systems and intuitive color patterns.


Shaped-Canvas Abstraction: (1980s-continuing through present) Geometric shaped canvas paintings investigate pictorial depth and expressive color within abstract and illusionistic formats. Complex structures contrast fluid and richly polychromed bands of expressive and theoretical color systems. Early work - Minimalist Abstract Illusionism: (late 1970s) Hard-edge, linear elements contrast against color-field backgrounds resulting in a synthesis of abstraction and illusionary three-dimensional space (late 1970s).
Pictured above: Jack Reilly - "The Fugue" a public arts commission for San Diego County.
Four separate panels, enamel on steel, 70ft. installed, 1991

© 1978-2020 Jack Reilly