Local sculptor Ron Reyes works within his element, and his element is metal. Ron currently works with hand manipulated wire. His wire sculptures are tranquil in their deceptive simplicity. Although the figures are usually basic forms in movement, each has layer upon layer of squiggly buildup giving the pieces the feel of a sketch come to life.
Although Ron was photography major at Douglas Anderson he is completely self taught in sculpture. He traces the beginnings of working with wire to high school. "In school, Me and my friend Noelle would make little heart shapes and things like that out of paperclips and give them to each other." That was the extent of his sculpture work as he was exploring photography and dance, but after a hiatus from taking photos Ron came back and developed his sculpture to what you see today. Wire seems to be the friendliest way for him to express himself at this time.

  To keep centered and focused Ron escapes to nature retreats as often as possible. Ron is inspired by nature, organic forms, and dance. It was in one of his retreats that Ron discovered a direct inspiration for his dancer series. "There was this glass house that I would go to sculpt in, and in it there was a rope that was just hanging down that I could hang on and just spin. My feet would barely touch the ground. It's amazing how much speed you can work up that way." His dance experience shines through in the gesture and poses of his sculptures, which he encourages people to interact with. When one spins his dancers you can almost see life in them. "This is how I feel when I dance."

  When one views his fish, birds, and mythical creatures, it seems as if they are about to break free of their suspension. Even in his more commercial works there is a grand sense of the organic; in Ron's lighting fixtures branches and roots grow out from calmly lit spheres. Ron is moving toward incorporating more glass and light into the mesh and is striving to one day work with larger metals and welding. Keep an eye for Ron's sculptures at the Fat Kat through June 14, and his light fixtures that adorn the ceilings of Milo in Five Points.

by Nathan Thorin

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