Reed Danziger American, b. 1966

Reed Danziger makes complex, intricately layered paintings that become worlds in themselves. Arabesques, mandalas, dots, and other ornamental designs co-mingle with organic shapes and patterns from nature. Like cells frantically reproducing in a Petri dish, their dense clusters seem about to explode from the surface.

As she builds each layer, Danziger interweaves stenciled patterns with free-hand drawing. She has long been fascinated with anonymous forms of design and decoration of ancient origins. Her process of layering silkscreen, drawing, and painting simulates the unpredictable ways in which these forms have morphed over the centuries as they have come into contact with new cultures and technologies. Yet her motifs also mimic nature in the way they mutate and regenerate as the paintings evolve.