Artwork of Edward J Reed

September 2008 Solo Exhibition & Critical Acclaim

The Art League Gallery in Alexandria, VA, presented a solo exhibition of Ted's recent works, entitled "Presence." The show featured both portraits and paintings with broader narrative content and a wider emotional range than most portraits but that still focus on people as subjects.

Duration: September 5 to October 6, 2008

Location: The Art League Gallery, 105 N. Union Street, Alexandria, VA, 703-683-1780, www.theartleague.com

Click here to read the article, "More on Edward Reed's Solo Show "Presence," posted on The Art League Gallery's blog

Show Images

The Art League Gallery

Linger, 40 x 28 inches, oil on linen

End of the Beginning, 48 x 60 inches, oil on linen

Pippi Takes a Ride, 46 x 28 inches, oil on linen

Presence, 54 x 54 inches, oil on linen

Present Stranger, 80 x 40 inches, oil on linen

Failing Light, 30 x 53 inches, oil on linen

Carolyn, 12 x 22 inches, oil on linen

Contemplation, 20 x 60 inches, oil on linen

Time Enough (Detail), 36 x 48 inches, oil on linen

Critical Reviews

Renowned DC metro area art critic F. Lennox Compello writes of Mr. Reed's exhibit Presence:

I think that DC area painter Ted Reed is one of the supreme masters of the technical aspect of classic realism. They don't get much better than Reed when it comes to delivering superbly crafted portraits and representational work at the height of realism. But technical wizardry is not all that makes a great painting (although it is damned well ahead of whatever is in second place), and Reed also has the mastery of many other tools that a successful painter needs: composition, creativity and that arcane ability to grab something from the subject beyond just its likeness.

Click here to read Mr. Compello's review in DC Art News.

In an earlier review of the painting Pippi Takes a Ride, Mr. Campello writes:

In this work, Reed captures that immensely difficult wisp of essence that makes a portrait change from a painting of a person to a portrait of a person.

He has not only captured the pretty-girl quality of the model (who is one of the most popular and talented Art League models around), but also managed to catch her presence and spirit. This is just not a painting of a deeply sensual woman dressed in tough biker gear; this is a work of art that steals a little bit of the soul and presence of the model and embeds it in the oil and medium and visual weight of the work.

WOW!

I was absolutely hypnotized by the work.

Click here to read Mr. Compellos' review of Pippi Takes a Ride in DC Art News.

Mr. Compello is an art critic who writes for the Washington Post, the Old Town Crier, Visions Magazine for the Arts, Dimensions Magazine, Pitch Magazine, The City Beat, The KOAN Art Newsletter, Art Calendar, DC One Magazine, and other publications.

Kevin Mellema in Northern Virginia Art Beat writes in his review of the "Presence" exchibit:

Many portrait painters work from photos these days, and frankly, the finished products tend to show it. They lack the life and presence of the subject, reducing them to a two-dimensional pastiche of the person they intend to portray.

Reed paints subjects not only in the flesh, but actively engaged in relaxed conversation. The result is an amazingly life-like visage that seems to live somewhere between the two- and three-dimensional worlds. He's not quite up to Rembrant standards, but he's getting close to it.

Click here to read Mr. Mellema's full review of the "Presence" exhibit.

Noted art critic Shauna Lee Lange writes:

Excitement is building over The Art League's upcoming September exhibition featuring the
solo works of painter Edward J. (Ted) Reed. This author is the first to call Reed, with solid
justification, "The Contemporary Vermeer."

We believe the devil's in the detail, and in Reed’s work the angel’s in the light. . . . The rich,
vibrant colors Reed adds enhance his painting’s emotional impact and is in direct correlation
with Vermeer’s style. . . . Across time, the silvery cord that binds and ties all art lovers has
magically united Reed with Vermeer.

Click here (and scroll down a bit) to read "A Contemporary Vermeer: Edward J. Reed @ the Art League," by Shauna Lee Lange of Shauna Lee Lange Arts Advisory

Chris Klimek in the DC Examiner characterizes Presence as an exhibit in which, "[p]ainter Edward J. Reed presents his psychologically complex portraits of subjects in states of contemplation."

Awards

Although almost all paintings in this exhibition are new, Mr. Reed has offered two works for competition before, Pippi Takes a Ride and Present Stranger. Together, they won the following awards:

•  Honors Award, International Portrait Competition, Portrait Society of America

•  Second Place, International Portrait Competition, Portrait Society of Canada

•  Best in Oil, American Artist 70th Annual Readers' Choice Competition

•  Finalist, American Artist 70th Annual Competition

•  People's Choice Award, 14th Annual Juried Exhibtion, League of Reston Artists

Live Model Painting Demonstrations in the Gallery

Ted presented three live-model painting demonstrations in the gallery during the show's run, on September 15, 22, and October 5. The "Northern Virginia Art Beat" column in Falls Church News-Press had nothing but praise for these demonstrations:

.As I relayed in a recent review of this show, Reed can do some serious portrait painting. Here we get to see him in action. This the last weekend to catch his solo show, and the last of three painting demos he's giving in the same gallery space.

Reed teaches painting at the Torpedo Factory. Coupled with his past life as a litigator, Reed is not one to fumble for words. He knows what he is doing, and is able to articulate it clearly and effortlessly as few artists can. Having attended the last half hour of his last demo we can attest that this is likely to be the best free art instruction you've ever had, or ever will have.

Click here and scoll down to the middle of "Art in the Park" section to read the article (empasis added).