#341 (Primary Title)
David Reed, American, born 1946 (Artist)
“Painting can reflect our current environment. It has to be radically reinvented to be relevant to the present. I want my paintings not to be nostalgic or sentimental—that means they have to be about this moment.” —David Reed
Reed is fascinated with technology and media. The even lighting of #341 suggests the glow of TV; its brighter colors have the intensity of Technicolor; and the extended horizontal format resembles CinemaScope. Reed also delights in the past. His signature ribbonlike forms recall the folds of garments in Renaissance and Baroque paintings. The luscious colors he uses also reflect his passion for those periods.
The abstract, gestural forms of Reed’s paintings cause comparisons with Abstract Expressionism, in which the artist’s brushstrokes record his creative impulse. Reed’s looping gestures, however, are carefully crafted. He builds up layers of translucent glazes, opaque paint, and synthetic resins; masks off some areas and completely removes others; and sands and burnishes the surface. Reed worked on #341 in three phases, completing it in 1999.
[1] Accessioned February 17, 2000. See VMFA Curatorial file.
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