Bernie Reid sources discarded pieces of linoleum and vinyl to make ‘rugs’. Referencing Persian and Caucasian carpet designs and early 20th century decorative schemes, Reid reinvents and repurposes traditional patterns and forms to paint in trompe l’oeil (a French term translating as to ‘deceive the eye’) directly onto lino remnants. Reid is also part-inspired by the long-standing Eastern European tradition of painting ‘rugs’ directly on to stone floors or floorboards by using hand-cut stencils.
Bernie Reid lives and works in Edinburgh. He studied painting at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 2011. Prior to this he clandestinely stenciled many of Edinburgh’s streets and worked as an illustrator. In 2007 Reid together with designer Beca Lipscombe and artist Lucy McKenzie, formed Atelier E.B, an art-based interiors company, with the aim of bringing fine art into the realm of commercial design. Reid’s work was recently seen in Atelier E.B’s exhibition Passer-by at Serpentine Gallery, London and Gallerie Lafayette, Paris.