Brian Reed

New York-based artist, Brian Reed’s work moves between extremes that share a psychedelic color palette and kinetic sense of movement and energy. Always working from those visual constants, Reed experiments with traditional, region-specific aesthetic styles, like the torturous, surreal bodies found in the cultural production of certain regions of western Africa, or the motifs and myths from some Meso-American populations. Adding personal touches to these disparate narratives, Reed incorporates his personal autobiography, and cites influences by other artists such as Kiki Smith or Egon Sheila. Certain compositions suggest wounded, vulnerable introspection, with figures folded into poses of pain, fear and confusion. Elsewhere, Reed channels the inherent optimism and energy of his favored color scheme to create shimmering, ebullient landscapes where hues, forms and figures coexist more harmoniously. Whether dark or upbeat, his paintings offer fascinating psychological portraits that are impossible to ignore.

Brian Reed currently studies Pre-Columbian and Afro-Atlantic traditions at Yale.  His work has been exhibited nationally in museums from LA to St. Louis, and most recently at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington D.C.