Paul Reed: A Measured Abstraction

Our lead exhibition for Spring 2026, Paul Reed: A Measured Abstraction, brings focused attention to one of the most significant figures of the Washington Color School. A pioneering abstract painter, Paul Reed (1919–2015) is best known for his luminous staining technique, pouring and brushing thinned acrylic paint directly onto unprimed canvas to create expansive fields of radiant color. His work helped define a generation of postwar abstraction in Washington, D.C., alongside artists such as Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and Gene Davis.

A Measured Abstraction presents paintings, drawings, and prints spanning several decades of Reed’s artistic production, from his early experiments in the 1960s, when he first developed his signature color-stripe and geometric compositions, to the more complex, layered, and rhythmically structured works of the 1990s and early 2000s. Across these periods, Reed explored the dynamic interplay of color, line, and spatial movement, producing works that are at once optical, architectural, and deeply lyrical.

This exhibition is organized by Director and Chief Curator Taras W. Matla, with design and installation led by Preparator Korey Richardson and operational support from Business Manager Andrea Huicy. Additional contributions were made by Curatorial Assistants Haojian Cheng and Patricia Ortega-Miranda.

Major support is provided by the Dorothy and Nicholas Orem Exhibition Fund. Generous support is also provided by the Maryland State Arts Council. This exhibition is presented in association with the College of Arts and Humanities and University of Maryland’s Arts for All initiative. 

An in-person reception will take place on Wednesday, February 25, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., celebrating our new slate of exhibitions as well as our 60th anniversary. 

Image: Paul Reed, Untitled, 1990, mixed media. Gift of Bill McGillicuddy. 

Our lead exhibition for Spring 2026, Paul Reed: A Measured Abstraction, brings focused attention to one of the most significant figures of the Washington Color School. A pioneering abstract painter, Paul Reed (1919–2015) is best known for his luminous staining technique, pouring and brushing thinned acrylic paint directly onto unprimed canvas to create expansive fields of radiant color. His work helped define a generation of postwar abstraction in Washington, D.C., alongside artists such as Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and Gene Davis.

A Measured Abstraction presents paintings, drawings, and prints spanning several decades of Reed’s artistic production, from his early experiments in the 1960s, when he first developed his signature color-stripe and geometric compositions, to the more complex, layered, and rhythmically structured works of the 1990s and early 2000s. Across these periods, Reed explored the dynamic interplay of color, line, and spatial movement, producing works that are at once optical, architectural, and deeply lyrical.

This exhibition is organized by Director and Chief Curator Taras W. Matla, with design and installation led by Preparator Korey Richardson and operational support from Business Manager Andrea Huicy. Additional contributions were made by Curatorial Assistants Haojian Cheng and Patricia Ortega-Miranda.

Major support is provided by the Dorothy and Nicholas Orem Exhibition Fund. Generous support is also provided by the Maryland State Arts Council. This exhibition is presented in association with the College of Arts and Humanities and University of Maryland’s Arts for All initiative. 

An in-person reception will take place on Wednesday, February 25, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., celebrating our new slate of exhibitions as well as our 60th anniversary. 

Image: Paul Reed, Untitled, 1990, mixed media. Gift of Bill McGillicuddy.