Alan Reid: Warm Equations

Warm Equations is a monograph thats not a monograph but more of a chorus of voices on the mercurial new collage paintings by New Yorkbased artist Alan Reid. The concept of this substantial book pivots around the artists deferral of authorial closure, shifting the emphasis from his work to multiple contributors. Edited by independent curator Rachel Valinsky, Reids paintings are interleaved with writings and poems by eight authors including Matthew Brannon, Corinna Copp, Jill Gasparina, Kristen Kosmas, Ella Kruglyanskaya, Lisa Robertson, Chris Sharp, Rachel Valinsky and Jamieson Webster, who pronounce their own concerns and set textual tempos and rhythms that run amok non-hierarchically, latching onto Reids metaphors or installing their own. Valinskys multi-voice concept is the perfect response to Reids mixed-media collaged portraits of androgynous models. Sketched over with references to music, poetry, sex, clothing, dresses and decorations, they hover aloof, between kitsch and the elegantly sublime.