Kirk Reinert

Kirk Reinert discovered his talent for drawing at an early age. His cartoonist grandfather and animator uncle nurtured his artistic sensibilities, encouraging Reinert to let his imagination run wild. Driven by their influence,, Reinert became a self-taught painter and in 1978 graduated from the Cooper Union School of Art. Upon graduation, Reinert worked in advertising as an illustrator and designer before establishing his own studio. He went on to become one of the leading illustrators in the genres of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, creating numerous award winning, extensively exhibited and collected book covers. He also worked as a conceptual designer and art director on film and video projects and created album covers and toy and package design. By the late 1980’s, Reinert began shifting his energies toward creating paintings solely as personal work and exhibiting them in galleries worldwide. In 1988, he mastered the lithographic printing process at the prestigious Atelier Ettinger in New York City, and created the plates for his first limited edition print. Shortly thereafter, an artistic collaboration with designer and spiritual healer Lilli Farrell resulted in a wildly popular series of paintings and embellished prints. Today, Reinert lives between New York and Japan, focusing part time on his personal work and passion, which is inspired by dark and smoky brothels and the underground burlesque scene in New Orleans.