Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford (b. 1961, Los Angeles) is a contemporary artist known for his large-scale, abstract paintings created out of paper. Characterized by its layered formal, material, and conceptual complexity, his work explores social and political structures that objectify marginalized communities and the bodies of vulnerable populations. His practice includes painting, sculpture, video, photography, printmaking, and other media. Using everyday materials and tools from the hardware store, Bradford has created a unique artistic language. Bradford’s work is rooted in his understanding that all materials and techniques are embedded with meaning that precedes their artistic utility. Just as essential to Bradford’s work is a social engagement practice through which he reframes objectifying societal structures by bringing contemporary art and ideas into communities with limited access to cultural institutions.

Bradford received his BFA from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 1995 and his MFA from CalArts in 1997. He has since been widely exhibited internationally. Recent solo exhibitions have taken place at Hauser & Wirth, Hong Kong; the Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart; Hauser & Wirth, Monaco; Hauser & Wirth, New York; MAZ Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Mexico; Fundação de Serralves, Portugal; and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.