Super Sunday is a New Orleans tradition in which Black Masking/Mardi Gras Indians as well as Baby Dolls parade in Central City. The extravagant hand-made suits shine in the dappled sunlight shining through the live oak trees that line Washington Avenue. The scene is boisterous, chaotic, and beautiful and is a favorite local street tradition of the artist.
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From the 2023 Series 'OVERFLOW: Ecstatic encounters in the streets of New Orleans'
New oil paintings by Stephanie Reed explore immanence* through the experience of both sublime and quirky street traditions.
*Immanence: noun; The state of being inherent or exclusively existing within something.
People in New Orleans know that the city’s spirit is difficult to describe to those who have not experienced it on the ground, and we often land on the fact that its character is that of its people – who come together to express themselves in unique and beautiful ways. Many of the paintings in this body of work are at a large, almost life-sized scale that puts the viewer in the mix for a sense of “being there” in the flow of individuals who collectively shape the distinct magic of this place.
