Alexis Reynaud

Swiss artist and photographer, born in 1975 in Geneva, Alexis Reynaud is fascinated by the work of the great masters of the Renaissance, in particular their study of light and shade.  He trains his eye to reproduce natural drama with astute studio lighting to work equally at ease with still life installations, the human body or exteriors.

His unusual approach to light and his sense for scenery allowed him at first to sign with major luxury watch brands whose artistic directors were moved by his direction and unique vision of their time pieces.

In 2011, he is invited to Selections – a satellite art fair to Artbasel where several major art collectors started to recognise his work.  He is now represented in several international collections like Berggruen, Wilsdorf (Rolex), André L’Huillier, Barbier-Mueller to mention but a few.

Reynaud is curious by nature, he is inspired by any subject be it by its beauty, its transparency, its mass.  He has worked underwater, in virgin snow fields, he has blackened and whitened the human body, he has defined the fragility of a dried rose by splashing water or liquid gold onto it; in another series, he defied the solidity of petrified wood to create stellar solitary landscapes

Reynaud is also a world traveller.  He has turned the cityscape of Hong Kong into strange images of modern Asian weavings, he has purified the loud and humid city of Bangkok into pure concrete colourful pacifying puzzles.  His views of New York reflect the entertainment, the finance, the history with intriguing medleys of brownstones and glass skyscrapers.

Reynaud uses all the techniques modern technology provides.  He photoshops but never to enhance what his eye and clever lighting have already achieved. On the contrary, he plays with his camera and computer, cuts and pastes ; he mirrors and turns his shots upside down.  Like a conductor, he creates symphonies of shapes, mass and colour.

Reynaud is a meticulous artist and insists on clear traceable inventories.  He keeps accurate registers of all his works. Each one is numbered and signed.  They are produced and presented according to his stringent specifications. He personally supervises every step of his production.