Meet the Reboli Center’s December Artisan: Matt Reed
For the month of December, the Reboli Center for Art and History in Stony Brook Village is showcasing the work of acrylic artist Matt Reed.
A resident of Huntington, Reed began painting with acrylic in high school. He painted everything that caught his eye from a landscape to a still life. Semi-retired from a long career in visual merchandising, he started painting again adding designs to waxed canvas tote bags and antique furniture.
According to Reed, “acrylic paint is very durable and takes well to the waxed canvas. I wanted to produce art that could be enjoyed at a good price that you can take with you wherever you go.” He added that he chose a waxed canvas bag as it is similar to a stretched canvas and is the perfect platform for acrylic paint. People use his waxed tote bags for going to the beach, shopping, their knitting projects or hauling kindling wood. He paints birds, animals, flowers, nautical themes on the bags or whatever inspires him.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for me to have my waxed tote bags at the Reboli Center, such a fantastic institution and a beautiful building in a lovely location. It’s very exciting to have a small show there,” said Reed.
Initially Reed planned to teach art at the college level. However, after receiving a Masters degree in Fine Art from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University, he began working in Visual Merchandising and that became his career. He moved to Manhattan to design the store windows at Saks Fifth Avenue. He was recruited to open a new Barney’s store on Madison Avenue in Manhattan and became its Vice President of Visual Merchandising. After several years, he returned to Saks as its Vice President of Visual Merchandising and remained there until he became semi-retired.
As the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, that can certainly be said of Matt Reed who comes from a multi-talented and creative family. His father was a printmaker, painter and sculptor, as well as a professor at Purdue University where he taught Printmaking for 40 years. His mother was also an artist, who worked in ceramics, jewelry, painting and sculpture. His only brother is an artist working in carved wood and a musician. So, it was natural that he would pursue art in some fashion.
The Reboli Center for Art and History, located at 64 Main Street, Stony Brook, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information and extended holiday hours, please call 631-752-7707 or visit www.rebolicenter.org.
