Oliver Reed
Head of Arts

Contact details
- Tel: 0131 6516079
- Email: oliver.reed@ed.ac.uk
Background
I am the Head of Arts within the Centre for Open Learning, University of Edinburgh overseeing Art, Design and Music courses within our Short Courses provision, Access, International Foundation and ISS programmes. I am a practicing artist and lecturer in drawing and painting.
Qualifications
Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2023)
Postgraduate Certificate in H.E. - Learning & Teaching, UAL/ECA (2007)
Master’s of Fine Arts Degree at Edinburgh College of Art (1999)
Fine Art (Hon's) Degree at Hull College of Art (1993)
Foundation Diploma at Leeds College of Art (1989)
Responsibilities & affiliations
Head of Arts, Centre for Open Learning, University of Edinburgh.
Professional Body
Research summary
As an Artist, my practice relates to the natural environment, of space, time and memory, moving from one point of focus to another, whilst bodies of work also shift in their focus of employing various processes and approaches. Walking and haptics play an important role when gathering reference materials. The sense of touch and walking through a space is central to informing my perception. These experiences are then built upon through employing other means of recording, such as drawing, photography and recently, the use of Lidar.
When returning to the studio, it is the combination of the experience, which helps to act as a visualization aid a trigger for the memory, and perceptions whilst recorded materials can build on the perceived knowledge. It is arguably this binary relationship between the embodied experience of ‘being in’ the landscape and being 'in the studio' that is central to my enquiry.
Current research interests
My most recent series Ecotone, a word used in ecology to describe the transitional space between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. Acts as a linking word between the ‘on-site’ experience and the studio, between the digitally generated and traditional drawing and painting approaches.More video
In the press
2020 Webinar - Landscape of Memory: Memory and Perception, Koel Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan... https://vimeo.com/480663419
2020 Webinar - Landscape of Memory Webinar: Memory and Place, Koel Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan... https://vimeo.com/483421959
2020 Webinar - Landscape of Memory Webinar: Memory and Process Koel Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan... https://vimeo.com/486274484
2017 - Memory and Visualisation in an Art Practice... https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/411321335
2014 Documentary film by Sana Bilgrami for 'Art in Healthcare' ‘Artist Uncovered’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-onuJ6BMjLo
Solo Exhibitions
11/17-2/18 'Varieties of Presence', Tweeddale Gallery, Peebles, Scotland.
5/08-6/08 Superficial Intrusions, Hull College of Art & Design, England.
AIR (artist in residence)
2013 ‘Outlandia’, Glen Nevis, Scotland. (unfinished).
2008 iPark, East Haddam, Connecticut, USA
1998 Cleveland Institute of Art, Ohio, USA.
Site-Specific Works
1999 'Focal Stone', Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Scotland.
Films, Articles and Lectures
2018 'Varieties of Presence' Open Lecture, University of Edinburgh
2014 Documentary film by Sana Bilgrami for 'Art in Healthcare' ‘Artist Uncovered’.
2014 ‘Artist Uncovered’ - An article by Martine Foltier Pugh, ‘Art in Healthcare’.
Group Exhibitions
12/20-1/21 'Flow' Visual Arts Scotland Members Winter Show.
11/20-12/20 'Landscape & Memory' Koel Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (reviewed).
Webinar: Landscape of Memory Webinar: Memory and Place
Webinar: Landscape of Memory Webinar: Memory and Process
Webinar: Landscape of Memory: Memory and Perception
1/2019 ‘Alight’ - Visual Arts Scotland Exhibition, RSA, Edinburgh.
12/2016 ‘Fly’ - Visual Arts Scotland Exhibition, RSA, Edinburgh.
2/2015 ‘Converge’ - Visual Arts Scotland Exhibition, RSA, Edinburgh.
9/14-10/14 ‘Fabric of the Land’, The SMART Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland.
7/14-10/14 ‘Beyond Land’, BP Atrium Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland.