William Reed

I am a narrative painter and I tell stories with my art. I try to create a re-imagined reality through allegory and trans-formative narrative. In our dreams, metaphor and symbol are a universal language. Through the process of dreaming we are able to contextualize seemingly incongruous events, imply meaning and help us understand our own story. I acknowledge the richly magical and mystical quality of our unconscious mind and endorse the use of dream-like metaphor and symbolism in my work, which is unrestricted by time and space, people or places to engage in storytelling through narrative painting. Combining these basic principles with an often healthy dose of humor, use of anachronism and appropriation, I create for myself a full and potent tool chest from which to work. When I remain open to participate in wakeful dreaming, unhindered by traditional boundaries, the work may rise to a level of unspoken but universal understanding.

2013 - 2018 The Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Fall 2018 - Spring 2019 BLOCK XIX, Advanced Seminar & Critique Program, The Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Fall 2019 - Spring 2020 BLOCK XX, Advanced Seminar & Critique Program, The Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

2018 The Visual Arts Alliance of Houston, 36th Juried Membership Exhibition, Juror Selected Participant

2018 Kinder Morgan Exhibition Series "Still Life", Lobby of Kinder Morgan Building, Houston, TX, Juror Selected Participant

2017 - 2018 Kinder Morgan Exhibition Series, Lobby of Kinder Morgan Building, Houston, TX, Juror Selected Participant

2017 The Visual Arts Alliance of Houston, 35th Juried Membership Exhibition, Juror Selected Participant

2017 The Visual Arts Alliance of Houston 12th Juried Invitational Exhibition, Juror Selected Participant

2017 The Visual Arts Alliance of Houston 34th Juried Open Exhibition, Juror Selected Participant, 1st Place Winner

2017 The Glassell School of Art Student Show, Juror Selected Participant, Awarded the School's annual 2D Award for 2017

2017 The Jung Center of Houston, Visions Show

2016 The Jung Center of Houston, Visions Show