REINER’S JOURNEY
Reiner was born in Switzerland where he graduated as a cabinetmaker and designer at the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts. After earning a degree in business administration at the Zurich Juventus College, he became the chief designer and office administrator with a store fixture and interior woodworking company.
After two years in Sweden as a store designer with the Advitaberg Company in Sweden, he moved to the States to further his experience with store designs. An intended two-year stay turned into permanent residence in California where he became a US citizen. He studied architecture and engineering, obtained a license to practice architecture, and opened an architectural office in Sonoma.
His work as an architect garnered awards for the design and adaptive re-use of historic structures, but he notes “art was always at the center of my being”
As a young man, he was drawing and painting in conjunction with his other activities: mountain climbing in Switzerland, touring the Scandinavian Arctic by motorcycle, and journeying through Russia, including a stint on the Trans-Siberian Railway. His travels resulted in an extensive library of pencil, ink, and watercolor sketches.
In Stockholm, he attended art classes in figure drawing from life models and took a course in color design based on the Swedish/German Hesselgreen color theory. While working as a professional architect in Sonoma, he continued to attend art classes, primarily in figure drawing.
After retiring from professional life, he devotes his time exclusively to drawing and painting. Charcoal or ink figure drawing and landscape sketching are the inspiration for his acrylic work, paintings that transform feelings and experiences into abstract or nearly abstract shapes and lines. He says, “The act of painting, is a journey into my inner self that connects me to others and to the world.”
