|
|
 |
About Guy ReidAs a sculptor working in lime wood, Reid's carvings are often left in the natural wood but can be painted or partially painted.
It is the body itself, both naked and clothed which fascinates Reid, evoking the complex nature of human being. At times his work carries an irresistible, contemplative force. Art critics have described certain pieces as beautiful and ugly in almost the same breath.
Artist or Monk?
Guy Reid talks about his work and way of life, available as A Podcast
During his early 20's Reid spent several months in Buddhist monastries both in India and Thailand and once considered becoming a monk. To explore further his interest in religion Guy undertook an MA in Theology at King's College London in 1995 later writing a thesis on the realtionship between revelation and art. The philosophical debate surrounding this subject, particularly its reflections on the solid and comprehensive 'reality' of creation giving rise to the real possibility of the portrayal of particularity in the individual, has been a significant influence on his work and he has since lectured on the subject. Reid also believes that a metaphysical reality can be glimpsed through physical reality. This is reflected forcefully in his studies of Andrew. The artist has even suggested that in contemplating his beloved he has found a meaning in life and in art.
Reid has since spent several periods in Benadictine retreat houses where the influence of the rhythms of work, contemplation and the love of simplicity which cradle daily life have provided a profound foundation for his personal and working life.
Whilst Reid would today describe himself as an agnostic, he remains fascinated by religious narrative and symbolism. Whilst suspicious in some ways of religion and its dangers, he feels that it remains, at a profoundly subconscious level, something human beings search for, are intriqued by, and engaged with both positively and negatively.
His universalising of traditional imagery - such as the Madonna and Child and The Crucifixion and Adam - strip away the sentamentality and exclusivity of many of the traditional religious archetypes he refers to, but from within a theologically informed framework. It is this aspect of Reid's work which confounds and challenges both secular and religious interpretation.
 Madonna and Child St. Matthew's Westminster 2000 _____________________________________________ 'Hurry ruins saints as well as artists. They want quick success and they are in such a hurry to get it that they cannot take time to be true to themselves. And when the madness is upon them they argue that their very haste is a species of integrity.'
Thomas Merton 1948
Process In this beautiful 8 minute film Making Andrew by Dutch film maker Margot Donkervoort, you can see the process from start to finish of Guy Reid making a sculpture. Music by iBand
Guy also talks about his work, materials and influences, available as A Podcast Reid works from both live models and photographs. When working on portraits, the engagement he has with the individuals who sit for him is central to his work. This is reflected in the thorough and personal photographic basis of the sculptures. The artist has pointed out that whilst his carving draws on traditions of European gothic and early renaissance lime wood sculpture, it is the photographic basis of his work which gives to his sculptures a perplexing exactness that the medieval sculpture could never achieve. The originality of Guy’s work lies partly in this marriage of traditional practice and photography.
His repeated studies of his partner Andrew represent a tender and questioning examination of a life shared and forms the central focus for recent works. Reid sees this body of work as an ongoing documentation.
The artist's friend, artist David Blamey, has conversely observed that his studies of children offer a similar degree of intimacy, but in his view it is the detatchment that comes with the fact that Reid is not a father and the mediation of the photographic process that gives the children's individual character expression. He says, "These kids have the unnerving presence of adults. Our gaze is returned by the future neurotic, the future man-eater, the future captain of industry".
In recent years the artist has also been working within the tradition of relief carving. It is the illusion given of depth created by a play with shadow, light and perspective which interests the artist. Whilst sculptures in their own right, many of these relief works are indeed studies of Guy’s fully three dimensional sculptures and as such bare a close relation to the study drawings traditionally used by sculptors.
Guy Reid lives and works in the countryside South of Toulouse. Silence, place, time and space, rhythm and discipline remain central to his work.
_____________________________________________ 'Beauty will save the world.' Fyodor Dostoyevsky Education and Exposure
Arriving from South Africa in 1967 aged 4, Reid was educated at the Priory Comprehensive Wimbledon. In 1975 he moved to Shropshire where he attended Meole Brace Secondary Modern School Shrewsbury and later the Priory Grammer School.
Having completed his first degree in Politics and History at North London Polytechnic he commenced an apprenticeship with the Spink Restoration workshop (now Arlington Conservation).In 1995 he completed an MA in Systematic Theology at King's College London.
Reid's reputation was established in the 1990s, with his first Solo Show in the summer of 1999 receiving strong reviews. Other exhibitions followed in London, Manchester, Yorkshire, Birmingham and Liverpool, and internationally in New York,Miami,Toulouse and Paris.
Public commissions include the controversial and much acclaimed nude Madonna and Child at St Matthew's Westminster, a figure of Adam for Mirfield College, Yorkshire, a sculpture of St Editha for Polesworth Abbey, 14 lifesize portraits held permanetly at the Avoncroft Museum Bromsgrove and a portait of the painter Glynn Boyd Harte for the Art Workers Guild London. In 2006 Reid completed a nude crucifixiton for Saint George's Church Paris.
His 2009 installation for La Maison Patrimonial de Barthète Boussan France is also to held permanently by the musée.
Reid's Madonna and Child has been featured in many publications and is also on the cover of the book, Art and Worship (SPCK, 2002).
Reid has been the subject of a documentary for Japanese Television on Contemporary British Artists and appears in Michael Petry's anthology Hidden Histories (www.hiddenhistories.net) published by Artmedia Press 2004. The Museum of Liverpool Life lists Reid's Avoncroft corbels as being of international significance, the first sculptures of their type to be granted this status in modern times. One of these 14 life-sized portraits is of Reid himself and is featured on the National Gallery/Chanel 4 Website. The National Gallery
Reid's work can be found in important private collections worldwide.
Guy Reid lives and works in both Benque d'Aurignac and Toulouse in the South of France.
Thomas Merton 1948, Further related links. Modern Religious Art.com Mark Vernon.com Art Workers Guild Margot Donkervoort |
 |
|
.JPG)
