Louis-Reed sheep

Outside art Inside Hastings

If you’ve walked down Norman Road recently and passed Lucy Bell’s Gallery, you will have seen something odd. HOT’s Lauris Morgan-Griffiths went along to see what was going on.

The Gallery normally exhibits art and pop photography. None of that is in evidence. Instead there are odd signs, red and white tape, a rather mauled looking sheep and, what some might consider, doodles. There are photographs – not Louis–Reed’s, but found photographs – modified by the artist in his own idiosyncratic way.

This is the work of American born Jeffrey Louis-Reed. A renaissance man who manages to fit two days, if not three, into one.  He is a prolific worker: artist, composer, musician, DJ and writer, who writes national columns, edits art magazines, composes film soundtracks and DJ’s at clubs.

Alongside the sheep is a piano, customized with odd DIY and kitchen tools to produce its own unique sound – which is not untuneful in the right hands.

And then there is the art. His work has had common themes for many years: the use of found objects, non art materials, found photographs, music and ephemera – and the use of a restricted palette of off white gesso, black and red.

© Jeffrey Louis-Reed Overpainted boring flower painting

Precious is not a word that you would use to describe Louis-Reed: he is inexhaustible and not a respecter of other people’s art. He happily paints over other people’s paintings, enlivening what he might refer to as a boring still life; painting on vases, tea pots, plates; oddly juxta-positioning objects to make interesting tableaux or installation like an array of piano keys. It is naïve, raw, Outsider art.

And here he is alive and well and in Hastings; working in not one studio, but four. East Sussex is an area he got to know when he was assistant to similar polymath, Derek Jarman, in Dungeness, where he spent his time gardening, writing scripts, filming, painting and beach combing on Jarman’s numerous projects.

© Jeffrey Louis-Reed © Jeffrey Louis-Reed Overpainted Victorian Baby

Much of his present exhibition has sold quickly and as fast as it sells, Louis-Reed replaces it with new work. Not a subscriber to elitist art – art is for everyone – he has set realistic prices. He encourages and welcomes offers on his art; if derisory, he can always refuse.  And all this is refreshing and great for Hastings. It’s not bad to have an artist exhibiting here who has had solo shows in Tokyo, Paris, London and New York, continuing this year with shows in South Korea, Paris, Tokyo, Miami and New York.

Louis-Reed is not a man to be boxed or contained. His art extends and ranges over different art forms; film, music (you can find him on Spotify). With a vast appetite for work, he produced over 11,000 pieces last year – with no signs of slowing up.

And if that is not enough, Jeffrey is swimming the English Channel this August.

Jeffrey Louis-Reed: Nice Mid Sized Pieces for Mid Sized Walls     Continues until 22 May at the Lucy Bell Gallery,  46 Norman Road, St. Leonards-On-Sea, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TN38 0EJ  Open Tuesday – Saturday 11am-4pm or by appointment.

Also in: Visual Arts