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Please join us Friday, July 7th from 6–9PM for the opening reception of Reed Anderson. Ghost Flags and Flower Paintings is the artist’s second solo show with the Gallery. The exhibition synthesizes two recent bodies of work, Anderson’s exuberant cut paper paintings and his new investigations into flag making.
Nautical flags have a long history as a universal language, Flag Semaphore is a system of communication with embedded codes and meanings. In his new work, Anderson repurposes Spinnaker sails, lightweight fabrics, typically nylon, used on sailing vessels to create bold geometric abstractions. These works borrow from the world of painting, quilting and collage, but offer a fresh perspective of each. Anderson writes “More and more we are sending and receiving signals by means of changing flags. Revision of identity by means of Semaphore feels more relevant today than it has been in my lifetime.”
Reed’s well know cut paper paintings begin by block printing bands of color onto the base paper before cutting intricate patterns of circles and ellipses. These cut areas are then folded back upon themselves and used as a stencil to complete the painting. Anderson, in describing his process says creating the hand cut elements, “is both a map of how I work and the product of the work itself ...but this map must eventually be tossed out in favor of the spontaneity of painting.”
In a review of Reed’s last exhibition at Gallery 16, Julia Couzens wrote, “The show consists of two resplendent bodies of work...They showcase Anderson’s interest in embodied forms of production, using his hand to cut, paint, fold and layer stunningly beautiful works on paper. One body of work uses floral imagery to suggest bouquets or mandalas or muddied pieces of scherenschnitte, the Swiss folk art of paper cutting. I am also reminded of the late cut paper paintings of Irene Pijoan (1954-2004) who taught at the San Francisco Art Institute. Like Pijoan, Anderson offers generosity and respect for the power of formal craft. The flower pieces are unbridled odes to beauty and the ceremonial rituals of birth, death and achievement.”
About the Artist: Reed Anderson was born 1969 in New York, NY. Anderson received an M.F.A. in Studio Art Practice at Stanford University (2009), attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (1994), and received his B.F.A. in Printmaking & Painting from San Francisco Art Institute (1993). Anderson’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY), The Albright-Knox Gallery (Buffalo, NY), and numerous private collections including Thyssen Bornemisza Art Contemporary (Austria), Olbricht Collection (Essen, Germany), and the West Collection (Philadelphia, PA).
Gallery 16 was founded in 1993 by artist Griff Williams with the primary focus of representing and advocating for the work of living contemporary artists. In addition to the regular exhibition schedule, the gallery sponsors artists talks, and hosts performances and music throughout the year. It’s our belief that the brick and mortar gallery model, to be culturally relevant, needs to embody new strategies for facilitating and presenting artist’s projects. The space, as Williams describes it, “allows for the artist to fail. We don’t create exhibitions around curatorial agendas, but extend an invitation to artists we trust and hope they use the opportunity to challenge themselves without restrictions.”
The Gallery 16 exhibition program functions alongside our print studio which operates under the imprint Gallery 16 Editions. We were among the first print studios in the United States to combine traditional and digital print methods to create original artist editions. We continue to publish print editions, artist books, and multiples.
Our gallery space is located on the ground floor of a historic building at the corner of Bryant and Third Street in the South of Market area of San Francisco. Gallery 16 is active internationally as well as locally, working with individual collectors and museums alike in support of artists including Michelle Grabner, Reed Anderson, Tucker Nichols, Jason Middlebrook, Libby Black, Amy Franceschini, and others. We have collaborated with many of the top art institutions around the world on acquisitions and exhibitions, including Whitney Museum Of American Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Berkeley Art Museum, MASS MoCA, Orange County Museum of Art, SFMOMA. Gallery 16 participates in a select number of art fairs each year and has facilitated public projects for gallery artists in San Francisco, Denver, Houston, Saudi Arabia, Washington DC, New York, among other locations.