Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature New York artist, Brian Reed, in Metamorphosis. The exhibition is scheduled to run from November 20, 2009 through December 11, 2009 (opening reception: Thursday, December 3, 2009).
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.
Pulsing with a vibrant energy, Agora Gallery’s The Rhythm of Color displays the expressive central role that an artist’s palette plays in the creation of a painting. Crafting their personal inspirations in a variety of styles, this exhibition features a collection of painters that are united in their understanding of the intimate relationship between color and emotion. Persistence of Form daringly explores the experience of our modern world through the eyes of the artist. Beautifully crafted imagery abounds in this choice selection of paintings as the artists inject wit, fantasy, and sensitivity into their vision of humanity. The works are raw and physical, daring to examine inwardly while holding an unadulterated mirror to the world to expose both the ills and the joys to be found. Color of Transformation is a wonderfully diverse grouping of contemporary painters working at the forefront of their medium. With an adept eye for form, the featured artists swathe their imagery in wonderfully rich colors to maximize both visual and emotional reactions. With influences ranging from music to the natural world, visitors will enjoy exploring and interpreting the messages so brilliantly expressed through the power of color. Exhibiting a wide range of contemporary art, Metamorphosis dives into a vast cauldron of fiery inspiration. We see the humanness behind the form, we find joys, fears, intrigue, and power. There is an expanse of inventive styles, as elemental forms and dynamic figures transform the desire for understanding into action, in the same manner of the early explorers. To make the unknown, known: to see what lies over that horizon.
Featured Artists:
The Rhythm of Color- Renata Cebular, Ciceros, Álvaro Cuartango, Patrick Girod, Anduin Vaid, Melissa G. Watt
Persistence of Form- Sher Christopher, Meredith Collins, Jim Lively, Coco Masuda, John Nieman, Vera Puig, Annie Seddon, Sibylle
Color of Transformation- Mats Andersson, István Csizmadia, Sunil Howlader, Kristo (Christian Nicolas), Doug Simon
Metamorphosis- Fabrizio Andriani, Chritch, Emin Guliyev, Joo Han, Michael Indorato, Marcela, Brian Reed, Marina Reiter, Jane Sandes
agora-gallery.com
Image: Brian Reed, Death Till Us Part, Mixed Media on Watercolor Paper
