David Reed
David Reed (*1946 in San Diego, US) is an American painter known for his large-format abstract paintings. His work is characterized by long, sweeping brushstrokes that convey a sense of movement and time, as if frozen in a moment of dynamism. The layered structure of his pieces arises from numerous overlapping layers of paint, which, through subsequent sanding, reveal a transparency and luminosity. Reed explores the interplay between time, movement, and perception, drawing strong influence from the visual language of film and digital aesthetics. His vibrant colors and fluid forms evoke images of film strips or screens, creating a new form of visual experience. Through his work, he questions how new media affect the perception of painting. Since the 1970s, Reed has combined elements from Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, and Post-Minimalism, expanding them through the influence of digital image production. Color remains the central starting point in his painting, from which he reflects on and reinterprets color experiences, positioning his work at the intersection of analog and digital perception.
David Reed's work has been shown internationally, most recently as solo presentations at Neues Museum Nürnberg (2019), at Pérez Art Museum Miami (2016) and together with Mary Heilmann at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin (2015). Among others his works were included in exhibitions at Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein (2015, 2017), at Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig – MUMOK in Vienna (2016), at Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo (2003), at Fondation Beyerler in Riehen, CH (2001) and at MoMA P.S.1 (1999).
