Researching Don Reichert

Donald Reichert was born in Libau, Manitoba in 1932 to parents who had immigrated from Austria. He studied art in Canada, Mexico, and England and then taught for many years at the University of Manitoba. Praised by the critic Clement Greenberg, Reichert has produced work for many notable collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, and the Canada Council Art Bank.

Reichert's early work often combined the elegant brush-strokes of abstract expressionist painting with the techniques of color field composition. Other significant strands of his work, center on black-and-white paintings resembling Asian calligraphy, or on the use of Latin American imagery, particularly skull motifs derived from various Latin American ruins. He is perhaps best known, though, for large canvasses painted out of doors. While abstract, these are reflective of the landscapes around him such as the forests and lakes of the Canadian Shield. His technique is unusual: canvasses are laid on the uneven ground, and the impression of the earth beneath is subtly incorporated into the work.

Multimedia works include photographs that have been painted over, often with elegant splattering or dripping in the style of Jackson Pollock. He has also created works that incorporate photographs into paintings. As Reichert is an accomplished pilot, many of these are aerial photographs: a continuation of his ongoing interest in landscape.

He works closely with internationally acclaimed ceramic artist Robert Archambeau, both of whom operate studios in the remote Canadian town of Bissett, Manitoba.

Reichert has for some years been affiliated with the arts magazine Border Crossings.

In 2013 Reichert was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.