Lisa Tarkett Reed is a Maryland-based artist working in painting, drawing, and sculpture. She holds a BFA from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, including study in Rome, and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her work has been exhibited regionally and nationally, including at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, the State Museum of Pennsylvania, the Brooklyn Working Artists Gallery and Kentler International Drawing Space in Brooklyn NY, and the Midway Gallery and NIAD Art Center in California. A recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Artist Grant, Reed has been juried into the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, and The Artist’s Gallery of Frederick. She teaches at Urbana Middle School and serves on the Frederick Arts Council’s Public Art Works Committee.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

My artistic practice seeks to give voice to the mid-Atlantic region's endangered species. Synthesizing research and observations of threatened flora and fauna, my work invites a dialogue about ecological vulnerability. Using reference material gathered during field studies with my sketchbook and camera, as well as research into rare species documented by the Wildlife and Heritage Service and the Natural Heritage Program, I am developing a visual vocabulary over time. Images of Joe-Pye Weed, the Sandpiper, and the Wren serve as both personal symbols of life experiences and a form of activist documentation, bridging the gap between individual reflection and environmental advocacy.