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In some ways, the Colombia-based artist lived two lives as an up-and-coming artist: one in federal prison after getting caught trying to steal some of the world’s most valuable books and another following his release.

His seven years in Kentucky and New Jersey prisons permitted him time to grow and blossom as an artist. Fellow inmates valued his talents and took classes from him. The audience was certainly engaged.

But upon release in 2012, it took Reinhard time to readjust to less artistic freedom given the pace of society and his work rules under probation. Once he acclimated, he couldn’t quite find the right audience when showing off his art in his home city of Lexington, Kentucky.

However, Easton, Maryland may be just the right fit.

“To be an artist is something where you’re having to be vulnerable to put something out there in the world, and hope that it’s accepted or validated by the audience,� Reinhard said in an interview last month.

Reinhard’s collection — ranging from some created in prison and others in recent years — is on display through Jan. 3 at the Zach Gallery on South Washington Street. And it comes with a major backstory: In 2004, Reinhard was one of four 19- and 20-year-old college students who set out on a failed heist of the extremely valuable “Birds of America� book by the famous artist John James Audubon.

The plot was carried out but failed, and it landed the young men behind bars. Reinhard’s story gained attention when the crime documentary “American Animals� released in 2018, detailing the motivations behind Reinhard’s attempted heist of the book, which was held in the library of the small liberal arts college he attended in Kentucky.

Last month, Reinhard and his family traveled from Cali, Colombia, to Easton. The acclaimed artist met with local residents and patrons for a gallery walkthrough on the afternoon of Nov. 21, and the Ebenezer Theater ran a screening of “American Animals� later that evening.

“It’s remarkable to see from your first foray into the technique to where you’ve come now,� said Zach Gallery’s manager Aynsley Schopfer during the walkthrough. “There’s so much skill and elegance.�

Reinhard took attendees through his works, which vary in style. Many are created through a difficult ink transfer process he discovered in prison: Reinhard takes magazine clippings and uses a gel medium to transfer the images onto paper.

“As soon as I saw that, I was hooked,� Reinhard said about first seeing the ink transfer to the gel then paper. “It was just like this endless potential. Somehow, I could tell that it had huge potential.�

Around six years of practicing almost every day made him an expert in the technique, though he’s been off and on since his release due to an ever-changing artistic path.

The gallery also includes paintings of birds inspired by Audubon, the same man whose multi-million-dollar-valued book he tried to steal in 2004. Some of Reinhard’s newest works combine painted Audubon images with ink transfers.

Inside the exhibit, colors on the canvases popped, such as a bright pink crested spoonbill that sold shortly after the Nov. 21 meet-and-greet began. Reinhard said learning the “time-consuming and tedious� ink transfer skills in prison has shaped his art with depth and layers.

“I’m not covering up what’s underneath, I’m heightening what’s there,� Reinhard said.

Those that met Reinhard during the walkthrough seemed impressed, many asking him questions about his technique or his ability to create commended works with limited resources in prison.

Reinhard said the time in prison gave him the freedom to explore.

“Being in the same place every day for a couple years, you do experience a lot of things,� he told attendees.

It didn’t come with the added pressure of being an exhibited artist or trying to make a living, he said. Instead, prison taught him that art shouldn’t always be created with the audience in mind.

“I think an important part of an artistic journey is that you’re working outside of that audience for a while,� Reinhard said. “You’re pursuing your own interests, and you’re not considering how it will make you vulnerable upon being seen. I had that luxury for seven years.�

In the 2018 documentary, Reinhard remarked that as a young college student pursuing art, part of him wanted a “transformative experience� like some of the most well-known artists had.

He certainly had one, though he doesn’t recommend budding artists commit any crimes if they’re feeling the same urge for a transformation. Reinhard, in the recent interview, said transformation can be found simply through leaving one’s comfort zone.

“Don’t go to the university in your hometown,� Reinhard said. “Go farther away, get away from your parents, get away from family. Figure out who you are outside of the things that control your personality.�

“Take a few years. Be solitary,� he added. “Create things in a bubble and see what happens.�