The artwork titled “#8,” created by Paul Reed in 1965, is an exemplar of the Color Field Painting movement and is classified as an abstract genre piece. This work of art showcases the artist’s engagement with the exploration of color and geometric forms, characteristic of the mid-20th century art movement.
The artwork features a large intersection of geometric shapes dominated by various shades of color. A prominent element within the composition is a circular form filled with a soft blue hue, centrally placed against a background composed of diagonal sections of earthy brown, warm yellow, and vibrant green. The juxtaposition of the cool circle against the warmer and earthier tones of the surrounding shapes creates a striking visual balance and evokes a sense of harmony and structural simplicity. The meticulous arrangement of the overlapping fields of color emphasizes surface quality, inviting the viewer to contemplate the purity and intensity of the colors employed by the artist.