10 Questions with Ronny Reinecke

"Art is, as it were, freedom and order in my chaos and has thus changed my life," says Ronny Reinecke, who was born in Havelberg in 1979. Although art was already one of Reinecke's great passions during his school years, the initial spark for intensive and serious art creation did not come until he was about 30 years old, when a lecturer at the nursing school commissioned him to create an acrylic painting. From then on, art became more and more an essential part of Ronny Reinecke's life, who, apart from lessons with Ruth Schein, acquired his artistic skills autodidactically. And this with success: in the last four years alone, the artist has participated in over 15 exhibitions at home and abroad. Experimentation with different materials and spontaneity are as much a part of Reinecked's working process on his sculptures as they are on his paintings. Although contemplation and reading about the subject, as well as sketches made on a cell phone, serve as preparation for subjects that are of particular emotional interest to the artist, the execution is very free, leaving room for chance and spontaneity, and the final product always deviates from the original. On a formal level, Ronny Reinecke's paintings combine the expressiveness of a Jean-Michel Basquiat with the thoughtful composition of a Hanns Lohrer. Visibly influenced by Pop-Art artists such as Andy Warhol, he overcomes Pop-Art with its mere recitation of cultural codes and mass products by elevating unpleasant topics, such as his own conflicts and social grievances, to the content of his works. These confront the viewer with discrimination, colonialism, war, and child abuse, among other things. The style of writing and symbols, which is reminiscent of poster art, forces the viewer to look without the works appearing to appear striking. Although formally two-dimensional, they gain pictorial depth through their content. Ronny Reinecke is a socially engaged artist who wants to initiate a rethinking of his artworks, which should lead to more social engagement.

www.reinecke-art.de | @reinecke_art

ARTIST STATEMENT

“In my painting, there are different ways of approaching because feelings and emotions never stand still; otherwise, it would mean a standstill. Art sorts out my feelings and thoughts about moving subjects with the digital world at my side. In painting itself, spontaneity gives chance a little room to grow. With the pursuit of art, I have come to realize what art is. Art is order and freedom in my chaos and thus, it has changed my life.” - Ronny Reinecke

INTERVIEW

Could you tell us a little more about your background? How did you start experimenting with art?

Basically, the first step started at school in art class, where I quickly found enthusiasm for painting, especially in the implementation of themes. Finding one's own inspiration and pursuing the idea was already then, although unconsciously and now consciously, the impetus for the drive to get a good grade for the work. Really experimenting with art and having a passion for it today didn't really start until 2009 through a then lecturer from nursing school. She saw something in me that I had lost at the time and gave me the push by commissioning a painting. The assignment was to paint an abstract picture on canvas using acrylic paints. I sold her the painting in size 70 × 80 cm for 180 €.    

What is your personal goal as an artist? 

-the realization of my basic ideas to my 1st solo exhibition 
-to be able to work off and implement many themes 
-to establish myself in the art world 
-to achieve a solid income with it

What messages do you want to convey with your art? 

First and foremost, the canvas is a communication between it and me, so I paint indirectly for the viewer. With this, I want to say that I do not choose beforehand what message I now want to convey to whom. I guess you have to look at my body of work in the end to see the whole thing. Since I process some topics such as war, discrimination, or daily political topics, I would like to initiate with these a rethinking and a change of thinking in order to promote more social commitment because it will function one day only as togetherness. 

How much of your personal life and experiences are reflected in your work? Is there a particular event that influences your approach to art and your production? 

Very much personal is reflected in my work. I get most of my inspiration from my life and experiences. 
There are three types of approach to art with me. In one approach, where very much personal is reflected, or where questions arise in me, where I would like to have an answer, there are colors abstract by means of spatula, hand or brush, which happens quite freely, applied to the medium and the images that my subconscious highlights, I try to repaint, sometimes using the cell phone as an auxiliary material. I photograph the picture and put images into the picture where I think I have to put them in. Everything works in a kind of symbiosis. It all comes together little by little. Art also teaches you to let yourself drift, to get involved in something without knowing what the end result will be. In the end, I try to interpret it by means of dream interpretation. You notice, it is already very personal what I show there. In another approach, which I would like to explain in more detail, I process topics that always occupy me emotionally. These serve me as preparation, a view and reflection, as well as sketches made on the cell phone, but the execution is done freely, so I have room for chance and spontaneity. The final product always deviates from the template.

What is the biggest challenge for you in creating art? 

The art chose me, not me choosing it, so it is sometimes difficult to understand what it is trying to tell me or show me. It has been a very long process to get here, and so the biggest challenge for me is to do it justice.

Is there anything you would like to experiment with in the future? 

There are still some things, like with oil paints, I would still like to experiment, but for that, I need space and patience or have time to learn a lot about the subject of design.

Your works have bold colors and pop elements. What are your sources of inspiration?

As I said before, my sources of inspiration are from my life or from the issues that concern me, but the internet also gives me a lot of inspiration.

How do you promote your work? And what do you think about the art community and the art market? 

Nowadays, being an autodidact, you can't avoid social media, which I use as a help to promote. My galleries, where I exhibit paintings regularly, promote me through it a lot, as well as internet sites and my own website.
Art needs experts and promoters, and the art community is one of them because I think without art associations, art organizations, artist platforms, exhibition projects, without all the events around art, the art market would not be able to exist.
The art market picks out of everything the art from which it can draw a lot. Since I, however, am not yet in this market and thus cannot dive deep into it, it is a topic which is still very far away from me.

What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Is there anything exciting you can share with us?

On the poster for a competition, I continue to promote myself in painting speak style and market and always on my website. My plans for the future continue to go step by step, thereby strengthening me for further tasks in the art world. The opportunities where I could have exhibited come back, and this must not pass. However, my biggest plan, at the same time dream, is to curate a solo exhibition that I have in mind. For this, I need the necessary space where I can let my creativity unfold, probably also a sponsor and a few months of time to spend there. A big thank you very much for the opportunity to promote my art.

What would you like to tell the world about yourself? 

Find something in life where you can hold on and let your passion for it unfold freely because that is what will give you back the most when you need it.