Anarchy in L.A.

A West Coast exhibition looks back on the work of the Sex Pistol's signature designer

Published April 13, 2012 12:00AM (EDT)

This article originally appeared on Imprint.

[caption id="attachment_297441" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Folk The Banks, 2011. Ink, collage and acetate on paper, 18 x 18 inches, image © Jamie Reid and courtesy Isis Gallery."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_297601" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Shepard at a recent public session of my Art Center class: a "Creative Entrepreneurs" panel moderated by Petrula Vrontikis. Photo by Joan Dooley."][/caption]

ImprintNever mind the Shepard Fairey criminal contempt conviction, here's Jamie Reid. The designer who branded the Sex Pistols so indelibly by ripping across Her Majesty's face now has his first solo West Coast exhibition at Shepard's Subliminal Projects Gallery.

Shepard was still living in San Diego when we first met in 1999 in Silver Lake, which I described in my subsequent Print magazine feature story as "a hip but seedy neighborhood that separates Hollywood from downtown Los Angeles." That area has since become his studio and gallery's base of operation.

And "Ragged Kingdom" is a retrospective of Jamie's work from the 1970s up to now. He's still politically involved, as evidenced by his graphics. And his paintings reflect a new, spiritual side. His latest print collaborations with Shepard are also on display.

The show closes on April 14.

[caption id="attachment_297501" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Never Mind The Bollocks (With Amendments), 1977. Lithographic proof print with overlay and collage, 14 ½ x 26 5/8 inches, image © Jamie Reid and courtesy Isis Gallery."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_297551" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Pretty Vacant 1977. Proof bromide print (framed), 10 x 7 3/4 inches, image © Jamie Reid and courtesy Isis Gallery."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_297561" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Viciousburger 1979. Collage with oil paint on photographic print , signed, 11 1/2 x 16 1/8 inches, image © Jamie Reid and courtesy Isis Gallery."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_297571" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Vicious Burger / Sid Vicious Action Man (Some Product), 1979. Collage, 11 1/2 x 16 3/8 inches, image © Jamie Reid and courtesy Isis Gallery."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_297431" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Anarchy is the Key, 1979. Color photoprint collage on paper mounted on card, 9 ¼ x 7 ¾ inches, image © Jamie Reid and courtesy Isis Gallery."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_297511" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Nice Work by Nice Lady, 1977. Found newsprint, 210mm x 310mm, 8 ¼ x 12 ¼ inches, image © Jamie Reid and courtesy Isis Gallery."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_297481" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Liberty (Red), 2011. Edition 8/10, inkjet base print on 310 gsm Hahnemuhle ‘German Etching’ paper with acrylic screen print additions. 44 x 32 1/2 inches. Out of the Dross (Blue), 2011. Edition 2/10, silkscreen on Somerset radiant white velvet 330gsm with unique over screening. 44 x 28 1/4 inches. Both images signed, numbered, and titled by the artist, © Jamie Reid and courtesy of Paul Stolper Gallery, London."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_297491" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Nature Still Draws A Crowd, 1975. Lithographic print, 14 x 10 7/8 inches, image © Jamie Reid and courtesy Isis Gallery."][/caption]

Installation and opening night photos below © and courtesy Alan Shaffer.

Copyright F+W Media Inc. 2012.

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