Joe Bradley

Joe Bradley (b. 1975, Kittery, Maine) is widely recognized for his expansive visual practice that encompasses painting as well as sculpture and drawing.

Over the past twenty years, Bradley has constantly reinvented his approach to his art, creating a distinctive body of work that has ranged from modular, minimalist-style paintings and sculptures; to rough-hewn, heavily worked surfaces featuring pictographic and abstract elements; to recent refined and layered compositions that, as critic Roberta Smith notes, “balance gracefully between representation and abstraction.” The artist has consistently explored the possibilities of certain formal elements—such as line and, above all, color—combining references that are art historical, cultural, and personal to create work that is characterized by a vivid interplay between the formally composed and considered, and the spontaneous and instinctive.

Artist: Studio

"The idea is to get the work to speak for itself—to have a life of its own."

Artworks

Joe Bradley,

Untitled,

2018,

Charcoal on paper,

17 ¾ × 14 ¾ in (45.09 × 37.47 cm)

Joe Bradley,

Baba,

2016,

79 × 93 in (200.66 × 236.22 cm)

Oil on canvas

Joe Bradley,

Day World,

2016,

77 × 101 in (195.58 × 256.54 cm)

Oil on canvas

Joe Bradley,

Nomad,

2016,

57 × 46 in (144.78 × 116.84 cm)

Oil on canvas

Joe Bradley,

Untitled (Pink Schmagoo),

2015,

64 × 60 in (162.56 × 152.4 cm)

Oil on canvas

Joe Bradley,

Untitled (Black chicken),

2011,

75 × 69 in (190.50 × 175.26 cm)

Acrylic on canvas

Joe Bradley,

Untitled,

2014,

50 × 60 in (127 × 152.4 cm)

Silkscreen on canvas

Joe Bradley,

Heavy Dipper,

2014,

144 ¼ × 108 × 1.75 in (366.39 × 274.32 × 4.45 cm)

Acrylic on canvas, Courtesy Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich Photos: Stefan Altenburger Photography, Zurich

Joe Bradley,

JJ Ram,

2014,

144 ¼ × 108 × 1.75 in (366.39 × 274.32 × 4.45 cm)

Acrylic on canvas, Courtesy Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich Photos: Stefan Altenburger Photography, Zurich

Joe Bradley,

Human Form,

2011,

96 × 126 in (243.84 × 320.04 cm)

Silkscreen ink on canvas

Joe Bradley,

Love Boat,

2013,

120 × 158 in (304.8 × 401.32 cm)

Oil on canvas

Joe Bradley,

Top Hat Trick,

2009,

96 × 66 in (243.84 × 167.64 cm)

Oil on canvas

Joe Bradley,

Superman 2,

2008,

74 × 54 in (187.96 × 137.16 cm)

Grease pencil, oil and acrylic on canvas

Joe Bradley,

Gordon,

2008,

120 × 40 in (304.8 × 101.6 cm)

Vinyl on wood stretchers

Joe Bradley,

Untitled,

2008,

9 × 6 inches (22.86 × 15.24 cm)

Ink on paper

Installation Views

Installation view, New Paintings, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany, 2015

Courtesy of: David Ertl, Cologne

Exhibitions

Joe Bradley, Human Form, Jan 13 – Feb 21, 2011
Joe Bradley, Schmagoo Paintings, Oct 25 – Nov 30, 2008
Joe Bradley, Kurgan Waves, Jan 27 – Mar 4, 2006

Publications

Joe Bradley, 2017

Joe Bradley
Drawings, 2014

Joe Bradley
Our Gang, 2014

Joe Bradley KARMA, 2013

Press

Roberta Smith "Joe Bradley Begins Again." New York Times April 14, 2022

Andrea K. Scott "Samaritans - Goings On About Town." The New Yorker March 1, 2019

Will Heinrich "What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week." The New York Times February 12, 2019

Samuel Reilly "'There's something suspicious about painting' — an interview with Joe Bradley." Apollo Magazine October 25, 2018

Colin Dabknowski "Albright-Knox show explores Joe Bradley's diverse career." The Buffalo News June 21, 2017

Dan Nadel "Close up: Scrawl Space, Dan Nadel on Joe Bradley's "Krasdale"." Artforum October 2016

"Make Painting Great Again." The New Yorker June 29, 2016

Jerry Saltz "I Love Canada’s 17-Artist State-of-the-Medium Spectacle ‘Make Painting Great Again.’ It Also Makes Me Worry for the Fate of the Lower East Side...." Vulture June 14, 2016

Kat Herriman "For an Anticipated New Show, a Shape-Shifting Artist Reinvents His Practice — Again." T Magazine March 29, 2016

Andrew Russeth "Mr. Schmagoo." W Magazine November 1, 2015

Roberta Smith "The Paintbrush in the Digital Era." The New York Times December 11, 2014

Gail Victoria Braddock Quagliata "Joe Bradley: Lotus Beaters." The Brooklyn Rail July 1, 2013

Artinfo "26 Questions for Protean Painter Joe Bradley." Artinfo June 11, 2013

Laura Hoptman "Joe Bradley." Interview Magazine March 1, 2013

Yasha Wallin "Cave Painter: Joe Bradley." Art in America January 5, 2011

Elizabeth Schambelan "Joe Bradley and Chris Martin." Artforum September 2010

Roberta Smith "Joe Bradley and Chris Martin." The New York Times March 11, 2010

"Dike Blair and Joe Bradley." BOMB Magazine Summer 2009

Carly Berwick "Artists to Watch: Color Forms." ArtNews January 2009

Nick Stillman "Joe Bradley." Artforum January 2009

Holland Cotter "The Lower East Side: Art Shoehorned Amid Charm." The New York Times November 14, 2008

Lauren O'Neil-Butler "Constraction." Artforum July 20, 2008

"Exhibit: The Simple Life." Time Magazine March 24, 2008

Lauren A. E. Schuker "The Fine Art of Less." The Wall Street Journal, March 7, 2008

"Joe Bradley/Anne Craven/ Dana Frankfort/ Keith Mayerson." The New Yorker August 7, 2007

Kathy Grayson "Joe Bradley." The Journal Summer 2007 152-156

"Pain Killer." V Magazine Spring 2007

Judicael Lavrador "Under Pressure." Les Inrockuptibles October 31, 2006

Ken Johnson "Joe Bradley: Kurgan Waves." The New York Times February 17, 2006

CV

Joe Bradley

b. 1975 Maine

  • Education

    • 1999

      BFA, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI

  • Selected Solo Exhibitions

    • 2024

      Vom Abend, David Zwirner, New York, NY

    • 2022

      New Paltz, Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium

      Bhoga Marga, Petzel, New York, NY

    • 2020

      Sub ek, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland

    • 2018

      Day World, Gagosian, Grosvenor Hill, London, United Kingdom

      Drawings, Gagosian, Geneva, Switzerland

    • 2017

      Joe Bradley, curated by Cathleen Chaffee, Rose Art Museum Brandeis University, Waltham, MA

      Joe Bradley, CHÂTEAU DE BOISGELOUP, Gisors, France

      Joe Bradley, The Albright Knox, Buffalo, NY

      Eric’s Hair, Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA

    • 2016

      Krasdale, Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY

      Joe Bradley, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland

      Forty Four Drawings, Gagosian Gallery, St. Barths