Reed Danziger makes complex, intricately layered
paintings that become worlds in themselves. Ara-
besques, 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 ex-
plode 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 de-
sign and decoration of ancient origins. Her process
of layering silkscreen, drawing and painting simula-
tes the unpredictable ways in which these forms
have morphed over the centuries as they have
come into contact with new cultures and technolo-
gies. Yet her motifs also mimic nature in the way
they mutate and regenerate as the paintings evolve.