In his whimsical take on drawing, Reed Anderson combines the fragility of cut paper, the spontaneity of sketching, and the aesthetic of graffiti art on a monumental scale. His cacophonous imagery envisions a vibrant, patterned world. To create a composition such as Midnight Peacock Music, Anderson begins by drawing and painting, introducing multiple applications of media on the front and back of the paper. He then crumples, folds, and cuts out patterns in it, allowing color to bleed through, and later reuses the scraps from this process to create yet another generation of work. The results suggest strange and fictional narratives. Here, for example, a neon circular spray of feathers and flowers evokes peacock plumage or an oversized lace doily you might find at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. The messy, dynamic, and improvisational character of this work also conjures notions of a visual “urban symphony” in which the rules of traditional genres do not apply.

Label from Drawing: The Beginning of Everything, July 8–October 15, 2017