Rodder is pleased to announce Terrible Idea, David Reed’s debut exhibition with the gallery. Over the course of a career spanning more than five decades, the renowned artist’s signature approach to painting has established him as a leading figure among the process-based avant-garde.

The title of the exhibition - Terrible Idea - is derived from an annotation in one of Reed’s working drawings included in the exhibition. Rooted in their sustained observation and revision, Reed’s working drawings are not preparatory in nature, but rather comprise meticulous process notes, color studies, and compositional diagrams. These are penned alongside observations on daily life, emotional, even sometimes self-critical responses to emerging ideas, and references to history, literature, film, and popular culture.

By presenting the working drawings alongside the paintings, Terrible Idea makes visible the process that underlies Reed’s practice. The revisions, annotations, and discarded ideas that might otherwise remain unsaid become embedded in the paintings. The exhibition offers an opportunity to consider Reed’s work not only as finished objects, but as the materialization of an ongoing consideration of what painting can be.