Exhibition Details

Charles Burnand Gallery presents “Before the Fantastic…” the debut body of work and solo show by Puerto Rican artist and designer Reynold Rodriguez. The show runs from 24th October 2022 until 13th January 2023. Realised over the past two years, this collection is a series of ‘moments’ created through emotion and form. Rodriguez’s work is guided by a very particular moment of creation, the instance when the nebula in our mind lights up and the synapses connect, crystallising an emotion or idea into a form. “Prior to every storm there is moment of clarity and quiet space, the pre-cursor to the dutiful chaos that will ensue, a moment where procedural development begins; it is this nexus that is “Before the Fantastic…” “
Award-winning Rodriguez (b.1971), multi-disciplinary designer and artist creates furniture, interiors and special projects; his work includes handmade furniture and lighting made from plaster and salvaged wood, imbued with distinct character that is both familiar and curious at the same time. With an industrial design degree from the Rhode Island School of Design, Rodriguez has over 20 years of creative experience. He is the recipient of an I.D. Magazine Design Distinction Award and he was also a finalist in the International Design Competition in Osaka, Japan for his work in aerodynamic architecture. This show marks a new partnership between Rodriguez and Charles Burnand Gallery.
“I was incredibly drawn to the level of work coming out of the partnership the gallery shares with many of its artists. The exquisite materiality of the works felt very much like a place where dreams like mine can be materialised. My conversations with Simon truly energized my desire to continue expanding the series that have brought me thus far. I am now filled with a sense that in the following months the work curated for this show will be known and understood to belong to a period right “Before the Fantastic”,” says Rodriguez.
Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rodriguez early on looked to art and design for a broader worldview. In 2017, Hurricane Maria was an undeniable catalyst for change for many Puerto Ricans. The experience was a turning point that Rodriguez used to elevate his career, restructuring his work to produce pieces charged with deeper emotional and political history. Rodriguez is a multi-dimensional artist, who has chosen his own timeframe to build a personal canon of work. “The distinctive, highly characterised works of Reynold Rodriguez combine endless wit and drama. This, fused with an innate understanding of materiality, forms which are often exaggerated, and a strong narrative makes for unique highly desirable and collectable pieces,” says Charles Burnand Gallery owner, Simon Stewart.
Rodriguez carefully studies the relationship between objects and how they are made. From his studio in San Juan, he works closely with his design studio to develop projects that combine new techniques and materials which are sometimes foreign to his cultural environment. His work often seems dreamlike, which is caused by his fascination with impermanence and the belief that every work of art refers to a moment or a feeling that we can never relive, much like a dream.
Located in the heart of Fitzrovia, Charles Burnand Gallery will also host a series of events including an ‘in conversation’ session with the artist to coincide with the exhibition.