I have chosen to research and write about Mark Bradford. I earmarked his exhibition at Hauser & Wirth at the beginning of term but missed the opening. He had been on my radar for a while, so I have made up for My tardiness by haunting the gallery at every opportunity. I just haven’t grown tired of his talks or his work, it goes on revealing. Now I want to see His pieces in the American Embassy.

Link to his 2019 show https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/25237-mark-bradford-cerberus

When researching the three final artists for my essay he stood out as the most positive and still does, he is SO positive.

He promotes art as a way to include and connect with people and the world he lives in. He believes in the community and the individual, believing art can make a difference.

I feel his way of ”looking out” is something I want to investigate.

His use of found materials and process of layering and then working back in to his work resonates with the practice of rediscovery and pursuit that I find so satisfying and revealing.

I think I have discovered quite a few things so far about why I want to become more critically engaged with what I do.

My practice was a personal exploration of my world, It looked in, I could control it, it was reliable and resonated with my audience who enjoyed looking at what I found interesting around me.

I enjoyed their support, I don’t think I’ll lose them, they can come with me on my new explorations, which will feed my ever growing interest in connections, change, digging and joining the dots globally with what I find.

Dots and nets, connections. This was something that connected all three artists I researched.

I feel that only Mark Bradford is really connecting and looking out rather than in.

I think it is time to look out and explore with a critical eye.

I am a little unclear about how to best action this new direction but with a lot of research and experimentation I should find a pathway the trick will be as Mark so brilliantly puts it, is to zoom in and then pull back out.

He uses the the analogy of studying a burning building by get right in the middle of the fire and then pullIng back to the sidewalk and then thinking about it…..the interviewer Nicholas Serota asks him if he would use a fire extinguisher Bradford exclaims, ”why no, that would ruin all the fun, I want the building to burn” and grins.

Here is a link to that interview.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03v21hr