1515 Lincoln Gallery is delighted to invite you to the opening of the Paul Reed – Works on Paper exhibition on Thursday, December 4th, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. The impressive show features 37 works on paper by Paul Reed, created between 1965 and 2011. Focusing on colored pencil drawings, pastels, and prints, the exhibit provides an in-depth examination of Reed’s mastery of color and line, extending beyond the canvas. Reed, a founding artist of the Washington Color School, is recognized for his innovative exploration of color relationships through iconic series such as the “Mandala,” “Upstart,” and nearly 100 “Disk” paintings. His work has been featured in landmark exhibitions and is part of major museum collections across the nation. Paul Reed – Works on Paper will be on view through Saturday, January 31, 2026, until 6:00 PM

ABOUT PAUL REED

Paul Reed (1919–2015), one of the six founding artists of the Washington Color School, explored the expressive potential of color by applying diluted acrylic directly onto raw canvas. “Pollock dripped, Frankenthaler poured, Morris Louis poured. Howard Mehring sprinkled. I blot,” he told The Washington Post in 2011, capturing his distinct method. Working in focused series, Reed developed the radiant “Mandala” paintings, the hard-edge “Upstart” works of zigzags and stripes, and nearly 100 pieces in his celebrated “Disk” series—a circular matrix flanked by two corner triangles that allowed him to investigate how colors vibrate, complement, and contrast with clarity and precision. Reed’s work was featured in the landmark Washington Color Painters exhibition (1963) and in The Hard-Edge Trend at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (1966), and is held in major collections including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Kreeger Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the High Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, and SFMOMA.