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Roy Reid, the grass-roots philosopher

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Roy Reid, the grass-roots philosopher

Roy Reid, the grass-roots philosopher

By Xavier Simacourbe on Thursday, August 9, 2007 - Comment

Roy Reid is one of the most intuitive artist in Jamaican traditionnal art

Roy Reid was born in 1937 in Portland, Jamaica. He primarily became known for his topical paintings, in which moralizing texts were sometimes used. This earned him the label of “grass-roots philosopher”.

Roy Reid is recognized as one of the most important figures among Jamaican ‘intuitive’ artists, - artists variously referred to as ‘outsider’, ‘folk’ or ‘primitive’ in other circles. Like many others who are painting in this tradition, Reid is self-taught. His work is steeped in spirituality, unselfconscious and spontaneous. Roy Reid widely exhibited in Jamaica and abroad. Selected exhibitions include the Self Taught Artist Exhibition at the Institute of Jamaica, 1971; Eight Jamaican Primitives in Havana, Cuba, 1976; The Intuitive Eye, National Gallery of Jamaica, 1979; Un Nouveau Regard sur Les Caraibes, Courbevoie, France, 1992.

The Artist featured in numerous publications including Modern Jamaican Art, Ian Randle Publishers; Revue Noire magazine; and Art Today, Phaidon Press.