Ariadne's Thread

Transient Curated is pleased to present an exhibition of work by Paul Reid, continuing September 30th. This release features a series of digital paintings created by the artist focused on the figure at the heart of his practice, the Minotaur.

These are the first words used to describe the Minotaur in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The creature, half bull, half human, has consistently been described in such harsh terms across countless tellings of the myth, but though his form may be monstrous, that does not make him a villain.

Paul Reid has been depicting the Minotaur in his paintings for over two decades. He has painted the creature more frequently as his practice has shifted from primarily oil painting to digital over the past five years. In his portraits of the Minotaur, Reid portrays the monster with detail and empathy, even when depicting his encounter with Theseus, the Minotaur takes the central position in the works.

Now, two years after last painting the creature, Reid returns with a series of four works, each showing a new canto, or chapter of his unique retelling, beginning with ‘The Thread of Ariadne.’ This version diverges from the traditional myth, here, though Theseus still defeats the Minotaur, the creature survives his wounds and finds a glimmer of hope left by the hero.

Ariadne’s Thread is the thread which Theseus left behind to find his way back out of the Labyrinth. In the original myth this thread is only useful to the Athenian hero. In this series the titular object offers an opportunity to the trapped monster as well, providing a connection to the outside world, if he’s able to follow it.

Bidders of ‘Farewell and a Black Sail’ will receive ‘Wounded’ as a bidder’s edition.