Hello {{name | Transient Family}},
This week we’ve launched Curated exhibition pages for past projects, including MOON:BEAM by Karborn & Shl0ms, everything vs. nothing by Joe Pease, and Perils of Sēsē by All Seeing Seneca.
Our first Curated release is Ariadne’s Thread by Paul Reid. The auction for the first piece ‘The Thread of Ariadne’ opens today at 12 PM EDT. You can find the exhibition page here, and explore more below.
‘The Thread of Ariadne’, Digital Painting, Paul Reid, 2025
“The shameful adultery of the queen was obvious from the bizarre nature of her hybrid monster child.”
These are the first words used to describe the Minotaur in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The creature, half bull, half human, has consistently been described in such harsh terms across countless tellings of the myth, but though his form may be monstrous, that does not make him a villain.
Paul Reid has been depicting the Minotaur in his paintings for over two decades. He has painted the creature more frequently as his practice has shifted from primarily oil painting to digital over the past five years. In his portraits of the Minotaur, Reid portrays the monster with detail and empathy, even when depicting his encounter with Theseus, the Minotaur takes the central position in the works.
'Theseus and the Minotaur', Oil on Canvas, Paul Reid, 2013
Now, two years after last painting the creature, Reid returns with a series of four works, each showing a new canto, or chapter of his unique retelling, beginning with ‘The Thread of Ariadne.’ This version diverges from the traditional myth, here, though Theseus still defeats the Minotaur, the creature survives his wounds and finds a glimmer of hope left by the hero.
Ariadne’s Thread is the thread which Theseus left behind to find his way back out of the Labyrinth. In the original myth this thread is only useful to the Athenian hero. In this series the titular object offers an opportunity to the trapped monster as well, providing a connection to the outside world, if he’s able to follow it.
‘Melancholy, Digital Painting, Paul Reid, 2025
Each work in Ariadne’s Thread is accompanied by a bidder’s edition. ‘The Thread of Ariadne’ is paired with ‘Melancholy’. The monochrome painting depicts the Minotaur in a similar arrested state, though this time by emotion, rather than injury, surrounded by the same skulls in another section of the Labyrinth.
The following three works and their bidders editions will be released progressively over the coming months. Only time will tell if the Minotaur escape the Labyrinth.
For more information on new releases and behind-the-scenes looks into exhibitions, join the Curated newsletter below.
Sincerely,
Transient Team