May 04 - June 16, 2007

works on paper

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 19, 2007

LAURIE REID – WORKS ON PAPER AT GALLERY JOE

Philadelphia, PA – It is with great pleasure that Gallery Joe presents the first solo show in Philadelphia of San Francisco based artist Laurie Reid. Laurie Reid, “works on paper” opens in both galleries on May 4 and continues through June 16, 2007. The artist will be present at an opening reception on First Friday, May 4 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm.

Laurie Reid is a one of those rare artists who gracefully combines high seriousness with joy and humor. She works in series, some of which she develops over many years. In her first solo show at Gallery Joe, Reid presents works from a variety of series. In the Front gallery are small framed works from the series “Caress”, “Architecture”, and “Calligraphic” and in the Vault gallery large unframed drawings from “Lucky Streak” and “Essay”.

Reid, primarily known for her work in watercolor, uses colored pencils for the first time in the “Caress” series. In these small drawings Reid imagines a particular person or place. As she contemplates these images the pencils “channel” her thoughts into involuntary subtle hand movements. Like a caress the pencil gently marks the paper to produce barely perceptible ghostly images.

In the “Architecture” series, Reid turns to her physical and psychological environment at the time of the drawing. These small gouache drawings reference her sense of herself in space—-the chair she is sitting on, the walls of the room she occupies, or the “architecture” of the light passing through that space.

In the playful “Calligraphic”, series Reid composes elaborate abstract and colorful odes to people, places and moments in time. These watercolor works are for the most part fanciful and lighthearted and, like the “Caress” series, are the products of Reid’s fascination with the act of writing.

Reid’s work was included in the 2000 Whitney Biennial. As a recipient of the prestigious SECA award in 1998 she was granted an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Her drawings were included in the traveling exhibition, “Infinite Possibilities” originating at the Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Reid’s drawings are in numerous public and private collections, including the Whitney Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, NY, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, UCLA Hammer Museum, CA, Yale University Art Museum, The National Gallery, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Gallery Joe began showing Reid’s work in 2003. Her drawings have been seen in three group exhibitions, most recently last spring in “Gridlock.” She lives and works in San Francisco where she is represented by Stephen Wirtz Gallery.

“works on paper” opens Friday, May 4 and runs through June 16, 2007. The artist will be present at an opening reception on First Friday, May 4 from 6:30 - 8:30 P.M. Regular gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday 12 - 5:30, other days by appointment. For additional information contact Becky Kerlin, 215.592.7752, FAX 215.238.6923. mail@galleryjoe.com