Still Life: Variant

Michael Reeder was born in Dallas, Texas in 1982, where he grew up influenced by local skate and street culture.Drawing and painting in traditional mediums from an early age, Reeder found himself drawn to the underground, invisible, yet very public form of graffiti painting. He then moved to New York, where he earned his BFA in painting from the School of Visual Arts.

After college, Michael took a job at Eyecon Studios in Dallas, Texas, and learned to paint large-scale traditional murals. These experiences fused with his early graffiti influence formed and developed into his portrait work today.

Reeder's current work commands attention with its use of bright colors, graphic geometric patterns and realism. His portraiture is powerful, imbued with solemn imagery, yet saturated with bright, vivid color. Strongly influenced by the subject of defining identity, his fascination lies with the individual self and those in-between or contemplative states that zap you out of mundane reality.

Reeder's process is open and fluid, focused on allowing the work to acquire its own sense of identity. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, as well as numerous print publications such as New American Paintings, Le Petit Voyeur and HiFructose Magazine. Reeder participated as artist-in-residence at Detroit's Red Bull House of Art in 2016 and currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California.