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Catalogue |
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catalogue |
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complete list of exhibitions, go to CV |
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images
of works |
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1. Woman Eating an Apple 1960 |
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2. Crucifixion 1960 |
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3. Pietà 1960 |
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4. Figure #3 1961 |
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5. Figure #3 1961 |
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6.
Hommage to Gorky |
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7. Figure #4 1961 |
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8. [Untitled] c. 1962 |
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9. [Untitled] 2 1961 |
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10. [Untitled] c. 1962 |
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11. Anatomy Study IV c. 1963 |
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12. [Untitled] XI 63 011 Feb. |
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13. Aggressive Idol Oct 1962 |
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14. Anatomy of an Amorous Object 1963 |
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15. [Untitled] VI Big Red Feb. 1963 |
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16. Red Seductress Feb. 1963 |
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17. [Untitled] VII Feb. 63 006 1963 |
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18. [Untitled - Figure 27] Oct. 1963 |
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19. Anatomy of a Bird Jan. 1965 |
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20. Red Riding Wolf 1964-65 |
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21. The Socialite 1964-65 |
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exhibition at the Art Gallery of the South Okanagan (now Penticton Art Gallery) February 23 - April 7, 1996 Curator - Roger Boulet |
published a 20 page catalogue for the exhibition link to these pages at Penticton Art Gallery |
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The Catalogue
The Art Gallery of the South
Okanagan is very pleased to organize an exhibition of earlier
work by Richard Reid. The exhibition that had originally been
planned was to have focused on the artist's more recent work.
When I began working on the project however, in an effort to
discover the origins of the new figurative work in the artist's
development, I was afforded a glimpse at some of his earliest
work. Although I have known Richard Reid for more than 10 years,
and had seen some of these works at his home, it was not until
a visit to his Grand Forks studio that these works began to be
pulled out of the storage racks. It soon became evident that
here was a group of paintings representing the artist's first
important body of work. It also demonstrated that his interest
in the figure has been with him since his days at art school.
Many living artists resist the idea of an exhibition featuring
work they have done long ago rather than what they are currently
doing. Fortunately, Richard Reid had no such reservations and
thought this foray into the past would be of interest to him
as well.
The result is this exhibition. I am very grateful to the artist for his interest and assistance in organizing this exhibition, and this publication, as well as to Beverley Reid whose memory of this time in London has also been of great help in reconstructing a chronology of events that influenced this work, directly and indirectly.
Roger H. Boulet
Director and Curator
1. The London
Paintings, 1960-61
The earliest of the London paintings are characterized by a darker palette and a figurative element stands out against a dark background. A darker palette generally prevails in all of these works. Reid mentions how he was profoundly moved by the work of El Greco at the Prado in Madrid, which he had visited earlier in 1960. The figurative element, which continued to inform so much of British and European modernism, was re-enforced by the environment, and the works pay hommage to the great European traiditons. The titles given to some of these works, such as Pietà and Crucifixion, indicate how Reid had absorbed some of the great subjects of the figurative tradition in European art.
It was no coincidence
that such near-abstract works were also informed by American
Abstract Expressionism. There, Reid was far more taken by the
work of Arshile Gorky than by the work of Jackson Pollock. The
work of Philip Guston is also mentioned as was the work of Joan
Mitchell.
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1. Woman Eating
an Apple 1960 oil on canvas 89 x 39.5 cm The earliest of the London Paintings relates directly to the earlier work that Reid had done in Mexico in 1957, where he began to explore Modernism through what he perceived as its real beginnings: Cubism. One is also tempted to relate this work to the many paintings by Old Masters of Eve eating the apple. Reid's exploration of the female figure in this series often relates to temptation in titles such as Red Seductress. |
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2.
Crucifixion 1960
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3. Pietà
1960 oil on canvas 84.5 x 59.5 cm A composition based on a triangle which might include the huddled figures traditionally seen in a 'deposition' painting, where Christ is taken down from the cross. |
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4. [Untitled]
Figure #3 Nov. 1961 oil on canvas 59 x 85 cm (61 004) With this work, Reid began his exploration of the figure, usually reclining and set against a dark background. |
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5. Figure
#3 1961 (#5 in Reid list) oil on canvas 58.5 x 84 cm (61 004) |
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6. Hommage
to Gorky 1961 oil on canvas 88.5 x 104.5 cm |
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7. Figure
#4 1961 oil on canvas 88.5 x 104.5 cm |
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8. [Untitled]
1961 oil on canvas 152.5 x 106.5 cm (61 010) |
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9. [Untitled] 1961 oil on canvas 105 x 149 cm (61 003) |
| 2. The London Paintings of 1962 to 1964 |
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10. [Untitled]
c. 1962 oil on canvas 85 x 59.5 cm (62 0202) From 1962, Reid's work took on a more sensuous quality. The predominance of red in these works is accompanied by calligraphic gestures which echo the figure, but the presence of the figure is suggested rather than represented in a literal way. |
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11. Anatomy
Study IV c. 1963 oil on paper 50.5 x 76 cm (63 001) |
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12. Anatomy
Study V c. 1963 oil on paper 76 x 50.5 cm (63 0102) (conflicting entry - image is 63 011 Untitled XI) |
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13. Aggressive
Idol Oct 1962 oil on canvas 147.5 x 118.5 cm (62 001) |
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14. Anatomy
of an Amorous Object Jan. 1963 oil on canvas 106 x 152.5 cm (63 003) The work was shown at National Gallery's 5th Biennale of Canadian Art in Ottawa. The exhibition later travelled to Great Britain where it was shown in the Gallery of the Commonwealth Institute. |
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15. [Untitled]
VI Feb. 1963 oil on canvas 152.5 x 107 cm (63 004) |
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16. Red Seductress
Feb. 1963 dyptich - oil on canvas 152.5 x 213 cm (63 002) |
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17. [Untitled]
Oct. 1963 oil on canvas 152.5 x 107 cm (63 006) During the summer of 1963, Reid spent 8 weeks in Salzburg, Austria, where he attended courses given by Oskar Kokoschka. This gave access to a model for 7 or 8 hours a day, and the result was 575 watercolour drawings. Before leaving Austria, however, many of these drawings were destroyed. The experience of working with the figure again seemed to solidify some of Reid's own directions. In the fall, the Reids went to to a château at Ravenel in the north of France, where he began to work on his paintings. The Reids returned to London later that year. |
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18. [Untitled
- Figure 27] Oct. 1963 oil on canvas 107 x 152.5 cm (63 1007) |
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19. Anatomy of a
Bird Jan. 1965 oil on canvas 153 x 86.5 cm (65 001) The painting was started in London in 1964 and completed in Canada in early 1965. It was included in the Painting '66 exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1966. |
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20. Red Riding
Wolf 1964-65 oil on linen 112 x 86 cm (64 0102) |
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21. The Socialite
1964-65 oil on linen 86 x 61 cm (64 0103) |
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