John Reid
Painter (Balgowlah, NSW)

For me, the process of painting is one of autobiographical acceptance. I am basically a studio painter. Although I spend long stretches of time painting outside, it is not with any intention of representing subject matter presented by the landscape. The creation of form and / or subject matter within the framework of the canvas arises from the process of painting itself and not from any premeditated intent.

I do not consciously attach meaning or narrative to my work, as it is the language of paint as a felt sensation that interests me - not images structured as a representation of that which can be put into words. Meaning carries an enormous intellectual burden, whereas the sensate, without implied meaning, tells a "tale" by taking the viewer outside their realm of logic.

Painting for me is directly comparable to biochemistry, which I studied for a significant period of time. With the latter, one studies the relationships between substances in a test tube and their potential reactivity. With painting, the same sense of relationship and reactivity is looked for - between colours and between individual marks on the canvas. Paintings are also catalysts – a surface or image which stimulates reactions, not necessarily seen or articulated but felt, within the viewer.

"This process, the language of painting, is directly linked to my inner process and hence a direct reflection of where I am at any one time. For me, painting is the external expression of the process of striving for and reaching a state of resolve, the act of painting identical to resolving any issue in my life."

One lays down all the intricacies and details the relevants and irrelevants.
One stews on it all
destroys ... re-evaluates.
Adds new irrelevancies.
Think all is lost
... then, suddenly,
the simplicity of resolve shines through

This can best be summed up by the late Albert Tucker in a rare interview shortly before his death. "For me, art stops with that moment of poised tension which remains just before the solution of an enigma, the sense of an impending encounter before the final truth. It does not attempt the blasphemy of reducing it to our human scale in order to possess it and glorify our ego. To do so destroys our sense of awe and the miraculous human reverence; the area where our possible immortality lies."

For exhibition enquiries, commissions and information on how to purchase John's work, please contact him below, or telephone 0435 073 550 / 02 9907 8270.

Contact John Reid
Visit John Reid's website

Residencies and Awards
2005 - Mercedes-Benz Residency Samuel Marsden College,Wellington,NZ.
2001 - Studio Occupancy Gunnery Studios,Woolloomooloo,Sydney, NSW Ministry for the Arts.
1999 - Hill End Residency Bathurst Regional Gallery & Gavin Wilson.

Solo Exhibitions

2009 - Defiance Gallery ( Sydney)
2007 - Clock Hotel  (Surry Hills, Sydney)  
2006 - Chase Contemporary & Tribal Arts, (Sydney).
2005 - Mercedes-Benz (Wellington,NZ).
2005 - The Depot Gallery (Sydney).
2004 - Taylor Galleries (Summer Hill,Sydney).
2002 - Robinson Lane (Woollahra, Sydney)
2001 - Gunnery Studio Exhibition (Woolloomooloo,Sydney).
2000 - Glenmore Galleries (Paddington,Sydney).
1999 - Robinson Lane (Woollahra, Sydney)
1999 - Bathurst Regional Gallery - Hill End Works (NSW)
1998 - Palm House (Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney)
1996 - The Hughenden (Woollahra, Sydney)
1995 - Burnie Street (Clovelly, Sydney)

Select Group Exhibitions

2009 - In Paradise: Artists of the Northern Beaches (Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Sydney)
2009 - Abstraction (Defiance Gallery, Sydney)

2006 - ‘Blake Exceptions’, Chase Contemporary & Tribal Arts (Sydney)
2006 - 4 Views, Chase Contemporary & tribal Arts,(Sydney)
2005 - Redlands Westpac Art Prize (Sydney).
2005 - ABN Amro Art Prize (Sydney)
2004 - Hazelhurst Art Award - works on paper (Sydney).
1997,2003 - Mosman Art Prize (Sydney).
1995-2002 - Delmar Gallery (Ashfield, Sydney)
1993 Waverley Art Prize (Highly Commended)

Collections (Private and Public)
Private collections in the United States, Europe, New Zealand and Australia
Trinity Grammar School, Sydney
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, Wellngton, NZ
Bathurst Regional Gallery, NSW

Academic Qualifications
1986 PhD (Biochemistry) Massey University, NZ
1980 BSc (Hons) Massey University, NZ