Ron Reihel studied art at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles from 1989–1991. Although he is claimed by the Light and Space community for his work in resin, his practice and approach crosses a wide terrain. Reihel pioneered a new direction in minimalist sculpture developing a plastic that glowed in the absence of light and sees colors change and evolve through a trade secret he developed in 1996. These minimalist works merge luminescence, pigment and urethane at times capturing the shadow of the viewer in an imprint of light. Reihel realized his development allowed him to “physically paint with light becoming living kinetic light paintings absorbing and emitting light.”

Reihel also studied fashion design and his understanding of pattern-making informs his work in sculpture that culls the many deep diving sessions of his youth. He claims his subject matter was “programmed by the sea.” The deep ocean is a powerful allegory to the subconscious mind and it is here these subterranean visages and forms emerge from “conscious, subconscious, and unconscious heart and mind” to become hybrid. Reihel’s polymer medium works are from his Morphology Series immortalizing “the spirit of an animal as an alive poetic creation.” These anthropomorphic forms offer meditations on the nature of time while confronting physical space. Their ominous shadows allow us to imagine another vantage point from behind the veil. Reihel sees materiality as a way to “recycle emotional and physical qualities.” Laurie Frank stated “Reihel’s work is about spatial relationships, constantly reassessing what is foreground and what is background. It is a profound meditation on the concept of time. It says everything about light and does the same for darkness.”