“Metamorphoses: Ovid According to Wally Reinhardt” at Grey Art Gallery at NYU
For centuries, Greek and Roman myths have inspired artists. New York University’s Grey Art Gallery is pleased to present a solo museum exhibition of the New York–based octogenarian artist Wally Reinhardt, who continues in this time-honored tradition. The exhibit features some 50 watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil illustrations from a series that numbers nearly 200. Reinhardt, who began working on this project in 1984, has focused solely on interpreting Ovid’s most acclaimed work of Latin poetry, Metamorphoses. Spanning 15 books, this oft-cited magnum opus from 8 CE has provided rich source material for Reinhardt’s witty and whimsical series, titled Pages from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Installed roughly in the same order that Ovid recounted his myths, Reinhardt’s graphic interpretations provoke a reconsideration of art making itself as a form of metamorphosis.
Wally Reinhardt "Theseus Slays the Minotaur", 2003 Watercolor, gouache, Prismacolor colored pencil, graphite, and tape on prepared Arches paper, 18 x 22 in. New York University Art Collection. Gift of the artist, 2018.2.30
Wally Reinhardt "Joves Makes Hercules a God", 2013, Watercolor, gouache, Prismacolor colored pencil, graphite, and tape on prepared Arches paper, 18 x 33 in. New York University Art Collection. Gift of the artist, 2018.2.62
Wally Reinhardt "Mercury Never Tells Argus the Story of Syrinx and Pan", 1993, Prismacolor colored pencil and gouache on prepared Arches paper, 11 x 15 in. New York University Art Collection. Gift of the artist, 2018.2.18
About the artist
Born in Washington Heights in 1935, Wally Reinhardt only began making art seriously at age 49. His fascination with Ovid’s monumental fifteen books of poetry, however, was ignited during the previous decade. While living in Rome in the 1970s with his late partner Robert Keyser, a Philadelphia-based painter who also taught at Temple University Rome, Reinhardt consistently encountered the city’s artistic interpretations of Ovid’s work. A patron of opera and ballet as well as an admirer of Renaissance and Baroque artists like Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Luca della Robbia, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Reinhardt began studying Ovidian-inspired artworks. Having never had formal art training, the artist acknowledges that the museums and the city of Rome itself were marvelous teachers.
Metamorphoses: Ovid According to Wally Reinhardt
January 9, 2019 - April 6, 2019
Grey Art Gallery at New York University
New York, NY
Framing Specifications
METRO GALLERY FRAME
Profile: 102
Type: Thin Gallery Frame
Wood & Finish: maple frames with pickled white & painted white finish
Purchasing Option: joined wood frame
Custom Wood Spacer: 7/16" wood frame spacer
Custom Wood Strainer: 1/2" wood frame strainer
Custom Frame Acrylic: UV acrylic cut to size