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Exhibition Spotlight—Reed Anderson in Drawing: The Beginning of Everything

July 26, 2017

Reed Anderson (American, born 1969). Midnight Peacock Music, 2006. Acrylic on cut paper, 105 x 96 inches (266.7 x 243.8 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; James S. Ely Fund, 2010 (2010:11). © 2006 Reed Anderson.

The Albright-Knox’s latest special exhibition, Drawing: The Beginning of Everything, celebrates contemporary artists’ diverse approaches to the medium. Here on the blog, we’re taking a closer look at several artists featured in the exhibition.

To create a composition such as Midnight Peacock Music, artist Reed Anderson begins by drawing and painting on both the front and back of his paper. He then crumples, folds, and cuts out patterns in the paper, 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.