Modern West celebrates the life, work and legacy of artist Paul Reynolds, who unexpectedly left us on March 15, 2024.

Paul Reynolds was an abstract artist who authentically mastered the art of living. Paul was everyone else’s champion as he was actively engaged in supporting and fostering the Salt Lake Arts community. He was the curator of The Gallery at Library Square, welcomed the Salt Lake City Performance Arts Festival for the past decade, and cultivated the library’s recurring art showcase, 12 Minutes Max. Through his participation and passion for community, Paul has left a legacy in developing and inspiring many artists throughout their careers.⁠

⁠We have been honored to partner closely with Paul in representing the final years of his work. His pieces, often executed on delicate birch panels, incorporate his performative spirit through improvised line work. His approach to painting and choices of materials reflect both his curatorial eye and love for the performing arts. ⁠

In an interview with the artist in July of 2023 he shared, “The heart of each work is a blind-drawn graphite line that comes right at the end of the process after a good layered glaze base has been built up. There is something extraordinary and independent about a blind drawn line. I close my eyes or look away, and make a stab with a movement that I’ve thought about beforehand but never practiced, and then look back at the surprise result. Sometimes I’m thrilled with what I see, and sometimes the painting has failed. I’m always surprised at the end.”