Shelley Reed

Artist Bio Artist Work

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Shelley Reed creates haunting black-and-white paintings inspired by the canon of seventeenth-century still-life and genre paintings. Reed paints complex narratives rich in form, symbolism, and emotion.  Referencing seventeenth century Dutch, French, and English paintings, Reed paints mammals and birds harmoniously caught in fleeting moments of hostility, jealousy, and anxiety. She selects dramatic images that are compelling and speak to issues that are politically and socially relevant to our contemporary culture.

Ms. Reed has been the recipient of several important fellowships supporting artists in mid-career including: a grant from the Pollack Krasner Foundation; the Maud Morgan Prize from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and a grant from the Berkshire Taconic Artist Resource Trust. Her work is represented in numerous public and private collections, most notably: The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, The Rose Art Museum, and The Danforth Museum.

Solo Exhibitions

2010

Sears Peyton, New York, NY

2009

Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA

2007

Gibsone Jessop Gallery, Toronto, Canada

Sears-Peyton Gallery, New York, NY

2005

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

Mario Diacono Gallery, Boston, MA

1993

Gallery NAGA, Boston, MA

1992

Zoe Gallery, Boston, MA

1991

Bannister Gallery Rhode Island College, Providence, RI

1990

Bess Cutler Gallery, New York, NY

1989

Zoe Gallery, Boston, MA

Chapel Gallery, Newton, MA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2010

Danese Gallery New York NY Other as Animal

2009

Clark Gallery Lincoln MA Flower Power                                                                                                    

2008

Clark Gallery Lincoln MA Free Reign

Sears-Peyton Gallery NY I Wonder if You Know What it Means?

Jane Deering Gallery Montecito CA Other Visions and Other Strategies

DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park Lincoln MA Approaches to Narrative

Sears-Peyton Gallery NY Ferragosto

2006

DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park Lincoln MA

Going Ape: Confronting Animals in Contemporary Art

Loyolla University Museum of Art Chicago IL

Arts Botanica

Jane Deering Gallery Gloucester MA

Trustman Gallery Boston MA

Artist’s Resource Trust Grant Winners

2005

Ogilvie/Pertl Gallery Chicago IL

Danforth Museum of Art Framingham MA

New Faces, New Visions

1998

Starr Gallery Newton MA

Women Whose Lives Span the Century

1994

Fitchburg Art Museum Fitchburg MA

New England New Talent

1993

Boston Center for the Arts Boston MA

South End Connects

Drawing Center New York NY

The Return of the Cadavre Exquis

1992

Thomas Segal Gallery Boston MA

Boston Master Drawings

DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park Lincoln MA

Post-Modern Baroque: Contemporary Painting and Photography

Miller/Block Fine Art Boston MA

Gifts of Compassion

1991

Zoe Gallery Boston MA 1

Gallery Artists

Bess Cutler Gallery New York NY

Gallery Artists

1990

Harrison Gallery Boca Raton FL

Flowers

Bess Cutler Gallery New York NY

Critical Revisions Curator: Lois Nesbitt

Fuller Museum of Art Brockton MA

Boston 1990: The Sixth Triennial Exhibition

Chapel Gallery Newton MA

Invitational

The Arno Maris Gallery Westfield State College Westfield MA

Fears and Scruples

1989

Rose Art Museum Brandeis University Waltham MA

Selections from the Permanent Collection

Scollay Square Gallery Boston MA

Circa 1900

Zoe Gallery Boston MA

Summer Review

1988

Stamford Art Association Stamford CT

The Faber Birren Color Award Show Juror: Lisa Dennison

University of Massachusetts Medical Center Gallery Amherst MA

Future Earth

Helio Galleries New York NY

20/20

Viridian Gallery New York NY

National Juried Exhibition Juror: Lisa Phillips

1987

Berkshire Museum Pittsfield MA

The Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture

1986

Riverside Studios London England

Riverside Studios Exhibition

Chelsea Manor Street Gallery London England

Annual Exhibition

1983

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Boston MA

Painters’ Progress

Selected Bibliography

New American Paintings, Open Studios Press, MA 2006

Tab, Ed Symkus, “Paint it Black (and White),” December 1, 2005

Boston Globe, Cate McQuaid, “Painter Forsakes Color to Contrast Beauty, Emotion,” November 30, 2005

Boston Globe, Catherine Foster, “Painter takes Morgan Prize,” November 16, 2005

Boston Globe, Cate McQuaid, “Double Vision,” August 12, 2005

Art New England, Shirley Jacks, “Women Whose Loves Span the Century,”

August/September 1998

New American Paintings, Open Studios Press, MA, 1996

Art in America, Miles Unger, “New England: New Talent,” August/September 1994

Boston Phoenix, Cate McQuaid, “Shows and Tell,” June 3, 1994

Worcester Phoenix, Leon Nigrosh, “Come Out, Come Out,” April 22, 1994

Art New England, Nico McIan, “Shelley Reed: White Paintings,” August/September 1993

New American Paintings, Open Studios Press, MA, 1993

Boston Globe, Nancy Stapen, “Nature’s Role in a Man-Made World; Women in Black, White and Gray,” May 20, 1993

Lincoln Journal, Marty Carlock, “DeCordova Hosts Baroque and Nudes,” May 7, 1992

Boston Globe, Nancy Stapen, “New Artists Go for Baroque,” April 30, 1992

Boston Herald, Joanne Silver, “Artists Find Positive Outlet,” April 24, 1992

Boston Globe, Nancy Stapen, “Art that Lays Bare the Pain of Loss,” April 10, 1992

Art New England, Miles Unger, “Boston 1990: The Sixth Triennial,” February, 1991

The Wayland-Weston Town Crier, Marty Carlock, “Exhibit Features Lush Black Oils,” January 19, 1989

Boston Globe, Christine Temin, “Reed and Gibson Paint the Familiar, Darkly,” January 19, 1989

Boston Herald, Joanne Silver, “Artists Develop Old Forms into New and Vibrant Pieces,” January 13, 1989

Boston Herald, Joanne Silver, “Reed Takes New Look at Old Art,” November 17, 1989

Awards

Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant Recipient 2006

Maud Morgan Award Boston Museum of Fine Arts 2005

Berkshire Taconic Artists’ Resource Trust Grant 2005

The Winsor and Newton Young Painter Award London England 1985

Boit Competition School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston MA 1983

Public and Corporate Collections

Museum of Fine Arts Boston MA

Hallmark Collection Kansas City MO

Fidelity Investment Corporation Boston MA

Wellington Management Company Boston MA

Danforth Museum of Art Framingham MA

The DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park Lincoln MA

Bank of Boston Boston MA

Lila Acheson Wallace Collection Reader’s Digest Pleasantville NY

Rose Art Museum Brandeis University Waltham MA

Education

School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston MA 1984
Diploma

Brandeis University Waltham MA 1980

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, cum laude