Galactic Journal Recent Paintings and Collages by Robert Reed April 6-July 5 Main and Octagonal Galleries Lecture by Robert Reed Thursday, April 5, 5:30 pm Campbell Hall 153 First Friday Exhibition Reception, with the artist present Friday, April 6, 5:30-7:30 pm In the Museum

• WHO:  Abstract expressionist artist Robert Reed
• WHAT:  Talk by Reed to kick off the "Galactic Journal" exhibition of his recent  paintings and collages
• WHERE:  Talk in U.Va.'s Campbell Hall, Room 153;  Exhibition at Bayly Art Museum, Rugby Road, Charlottesville
• WHEN:  Artist talk -- Thursday, April 5, 5:30 p.m. Exhibition runs Friday, April 6, through  Sunday, July 8.
• FIRST FRIDAY RECEPTION:  Reed will be at the Bayly's First Friday reception for his exhibition on Friday, April 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

The subjects of Robert Reed's paintings are rooted in an abstract expressionist formalism, while his pictorial language is composed of personal ideograms. "The work," says Reed, who spent part of his youth in Charlottesville, "allows me to document experiences, thoughts, objects, places and people, both in the past and in the future."

If Reed's artistic production constitutes a journal, his new work conveys a vision of space exploration, both inner and outer. All the work exhibited has a common dominant form. More subtly, all are called "school colors" and incorporate, usually in a chromatic spread, the school colors of his middle and high schools as well as his undergraduate and graduate universities.

The chromatic spread includes red and black from Charlottesville's Jefferson High School  and green and gold from Burley Middle School, which earlier was a high school. The orange  and blue harken back to his time at Morgan State University, Baltimore, where he received his B.A., while the blue and white represent Yale University where he received his M.F.A. These symbolically unite his growing-up years in Charlottesville with his professional training and achievements as an artist and teacher. Reed currently lives in New Haven, Conn., where he is on the faculty at Yale.Ý

The exhibition is supported in part by University Arts funds, the Office of African-American Affairs, and private contributions. Parking is available in lot A6 on Rugby Road across the street from the museum for both April 5 and April 6 events. 

For more information or images of Reed's work contact Jill Hartz, Bayly Art Museum director, at (804) 924-3592.

EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT:
Using a vocabulary of abstract imagery, Robert Reed's paintings and paper constructions delight the senses with their vibrant colors and energetic play of forms. Painterly oil-marker and brush strokes play on electrostatic images of earlier paintings in a shallow pictorial space, creating a complex surface texture.
Collaged shapes are pasted, stapled and bolted on, adding a physical dimension to the surface. While the subjects of the paintings are rooted in an Abstract Expressionist formalism, Reed's pictorial language is composed of personalized ideograms. "The work," says Reed, "is a way for me to document experiences,
thoughts, objects, places, and people, both in the past and in the future." 

If Reed's artistic production constitutes a journal, his new work conveys a vision of space exploration, both inner and outer. All of this work has in common a dominant spherical form. More subtly, all are called "school colors" and incorporate, usually in a chromatic spread, the school colors of his middle and high schools as well as his under-graduate and graduate universities. These symbolically unite his growing-up years in Charlottesville with his professional training and achievements as an artist and teacher. Reed currently lives in New Haven, CT, where he is on the faculty of Yale University.

The exhibition is supported in part by the Universityâs Arts$ Funds and the Office of African-American Affairs.