Joe Bradley
Galerie Eva Presenhuber is pleased to present Rejoice: Drawing and Sculpture, the gallery’s fifth exhibition with the US-American artist Joe Bradley.
It’s all in the title of exhibition: Rejoice after a long day/week/month/year of the world putting your body through its paces. Emerge, like the red orb in the magisterial sculpture Moonlight, into a new phase. The spiritual journey of mind-body is as classic and serious a subject as Joe Bradley could’ve approached, and he does so in these sculptures, as one must, with a sense of humor. His wry, counter-intuitive approach honors the journey while winking at its difficulty: That bulb is tethered to the ground. Each of the sculptures in the present group is as solid and allusive as Bradley’s drawings are ephemeral and self-contained. His always recognizable scrawl harvests iconography and marks from a net thrown wide and far through time. These sculptures come together from objects found, made, and assembled with a goal of depicting a mind-body state.
Lotus Feet, for example, offers disembodied oddly stoic feet to meditate on, just as we would do so with a spiritual teacher. The dignified anonymity of this object contrasts with the more abject pancake-like Feet, which call up Philip Guston’s distressed appendages. The two works offer, but do not resolve, the sacred and profane. The fluidity between the two modes is at the crux of this exhibition: To be whole we allow both. Bradley echoes this in his presentation: What we normally think of as a “base” is as important as the ostensible primary figure. There is not a sculpture without acknowledging the equality of the constituent elements.
The gnarled shadowy figure of Agony head in hands and tightly enclosed on a scuffed white base, is made poignant by its claustrophobic environment. In Despair the expanse of white, like a plummeting cliff around a bent woman, makes palpable the titular bottomless feeling. Repose with its student-model pose alighting on an enormous worktable give us a sense of real rest, of expansive relaxation. It also plays on our own perception – moving us to some far-off vantage point, peering at the scene so as not to disturb. Awakening brings us right next to an athleisure brand body in a moment of grace. Taking crowd-approved form, it once again pokes at the notion that growth is only possible under unique conditions.
And if you’re awake, then what? Liberation, pictures it – man and lightbulb (that twentieth century symbol for “idea,”) and yet the plaster head and wood bulb are side by side. The light of consciousness is on, but our material conditions don’t change. There’s no consciousness outside of ourselves: The idea of a separate ego is an illusion. Liberation is precisely this knowledge, and TV is nearly the opposite: a solid box that itself is a container of machine consciousness. The blend of machine and human comes to a point with Jnani and Beaujolais Car. These two meld tenth-generation kitsch versions of “authentic” totems and generic toy cars. This is culture on the move, literally: new vision of willed and unwilled exchange.
Each object is complete, present, and without any physical ambiguities. Look closely and they’re still scrappy enough to be resolutely human, united by Bradley’s subject matter. Running across them is rather like how the artist describes the making them: being out in the world and finding just the right thing. Bradley’s drawings index that experience in a shorthand that points out to referents and inward to the attitude it takes to find his paintings on the canvas. The sculptures are each a moment to pause and contemplate, allowing a frisson of discovery to become a moment of recognition.
Dan Nadel
Joe Bradley was born in 1975 in Kittery, Maine. His work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY (2006); Le Consortium, Dijon, France (2014); BOZAR, Brussels, Belgium (2016–17); and Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY (2017, will travel to Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, Waltham, MA). Recent group exhibitions include Silicone Valley, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY (2007); ab-strac-tion-al, Museum 52, New York, NY (2009); New York Minute, Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Roma, Italy (2009); EXPO 1: NEW YORK, MoMA PS1, Long Island City, NY (2013); The Inevitable Figuration, Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Italy (2013); The Forever Now: Contemporary Paintings in an Atemporal World, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (2014); New York Painting, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany (2015); Progressive Praxis, de la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space, Miami, FL (2016); and Albright-Knox Art Gallery, New York, NY (2017, traveled to Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, through 2018).
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Untitled
2014
Graphite on paper
Sheet 28 x 21.5 cm / 11 x 8 1/2 in
Frame 34 x 27.5 x 4 cm / 13 3/8 x 10 7/8 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2008
Mixed media on paper
Sheet 30 x 23 cm / 11 3/4 x 9 in
Frame 52.5 x 45 x 4 cm / 20 5/8 x 17 3/4 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2018
Charcoal on paper
Sheet 28 x 35 cm / 11 x 13 7/8 in
Frame 35 x 42.5 x 4 cm / 13 3/4 x 16 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2018
Charcoal on paper
Sheet 35.5 x 27.5 cm / 14 x 10 7/8 in
Frame 42.5 x 35 x 4 cm / 16 3/4 x 13 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2018
Charcoal on paper
Sheet 35.5 x 27.5 cm / 14 x 10 7/8 in
Frame 42.5 x 35 x 4 cm / 16 3/4 x 13 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2020
Ink on paper
Sheet 35.5 x 43 cm / 14 x 17 in
Frame 42.5 x 50 x 4 cm / 16 3/4 x 19 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2016
Graphite on paper
Sheet 30.5 x 22.5 cm / 12 x 8 7/8 in
Frame 47.5 x 40 x 4 cm / 18 3/4 x 15 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2019
Graphite and crayon on paper
Sheet 28 x 34.5 cm / 11 x 13 1/2 in
Frame 45 x 51.5 x 4 cm / 17 3/4 x 20 1/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2019
China marker on paper
Sheet 32 x 24 cm / 12 5/8 x 9 1/2 in
Frame 48.5 x 40.5 x 4 cm / 19 1/8 x 16 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2014
Graphite on paper
Sheet 21 x 15 cm / 8 1/4 x 6 in
Frame 37.5 x 31.5 x 4 cm / 14 3/4 x 12 3/8 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2018
Charcoal on paper
Sheet 37 x 29 cm / 14 1/2 x 11 1/2 in
Frame 51.5 x 45 x 4 cm / 20 1/4 x 17 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2020
Graphite on paper
Sheet 45.5 x 61 cm / 18 x 24 in
Frame 52.5 x 68 x 4 cm / 20 3/4 x 26 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2020
Ink on paper
Sheet 35.5 x 43 cm / 14 x 17 in
Frame 42.5 x 50 x 4 cm / 16 3/4 x 19 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2017
Graphite on paper
Sheet 35.5 x 28 cm / 14 x 11 in
Frame 42.5 x 35 x 4 cm / 16 3/4 x 13 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2018
Graphite on paper
Sheet 35.5 x 43 cm / 14 x 17 in
Frame 42.5 x 50 x 4 cm / 16 3/4 x 19 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2022
Ink on paper
Sheet 28 x 22 cm / 11 x 8 5/8 in
Frame 45 x 38.5 x 4 cm / 17 3/4 x 15 1/8 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2020
Graphite on paper
Sheet 24 x 32 cm / 9 1/2 x 12 5/8 in
Frame 41 x 47.5 x 4 cm / 16 1/8 x 18 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2022
Graphite on paper
Sheet 23 x 33 cm / 9 x 13 in
Frame 40 x 50 x 4 cm / 15 3/4 x 19 5/8 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2023
Graphite on paper
Sheet 21 x 26 cm / 8 1/4 x 10 1/4 in
Frame 38 x 43 x 4 cm / 15 x 16 7/8 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2023
Graphite on paper
Sheet 28 x 21.5 cm / 11 x 8 1/2 in
Frame 45 x 38.5 x 4 cm / 17 3/4 x 15 1/8 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2022
Graphite on paper
Sheet 23 x 32 cm / 9 x 12 1/2 in
Frame 30 x 39 x 4 cm / 11 3/4 x 15 3/8 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2020
Graphite on paper
Paper 22 x 28 cm / 8 3/4 x 11 in
Frame 38 x 32 x 4 cm / 15 x 12 5/8 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2006
Ink on paper
Sheet 17 x 11 cm / 6 3/4 x 4 1/4 in
Frame 34.5 x 28 x 4 cm / 13 1/2 x 11 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2009
Marker on paper
Sheet 29 x 21 cm / 11 3/8 x 8 1/4 in
Frame 46 x 37.5 x 4 cm / 18 1/8 x 14 3/4 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2019
Colored pencil on paper
Sheet 30.5 x 30.5 cm / 12 x 12 in
Frame 37 x 37.5 x 4 cm / 14 5/8 x 14 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2008
Gouache on paper
Sheet 28 x 21.5 cm / 11 x 8 1/2 in
Frame 45 x 38.5 x 4 cm / 17 5/8 x 15 1/4 x 1 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Lotus Feet
2023
Wood
Sculpture 16 x 19 x 19 cm / 6 1/4 x 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 in
Pedestal 99 x 34 x 34 cm / 39 x 13 3/8 x 13 3/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Liberation
2023
Plaster, wood
Sculpture 36.5 x 39 x 63.5 cm / 14 3/8 x 15 3/8 x 25 in
Pedestal 91 x 74 x 50 cm / 35 7/8 x 29 1/8 x 19 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2023
Wood
33.5 x 13.5 x 9 cm / 13 1/4 x 5 3/8 x 3 1/2 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2017
Wood
Sculpture 51 x 20.5 x 42 cm / 20 1/8 x 8 1/8 x 16 1/2 in
Pedestal 91 x 46 x 69 cm / 35 7/8 x 18 1/8 x 27 1/8 in
© Joe Bradley
TV
2016
Bronze
Sculpture 38 x 33.5 x 30 cm / 15 x 13 1/4 x 11 3/4 in
Pedestal 97 x 56 x 51 cm / 38 1/4 x 22 x 20 1/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Midnight
2023
Wood, metal, light bulb
Sculpture 59.5 x 38 x 22.5 cm / 23 3/8 x 15 x 8 7/8 in
Pedestal 89 x 53 x 38 cm / 35 x 20 7/8 x 15 in
© Joe Bradley
Feet
2023
Wood
Sculpture 30.5 x 39.5 x 44.5 cm / 12 x 15 1/2 x 17 1/2 in
Pedestal 56 x 55 x 53 cm / 22 x 21 5/8 x 20 7/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Despair
2023
Folding table, bronze
93 x 88 x 34.5 cm / 36 5/8 x 34 5/8 x 13 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Awakening
2023
Wood
Skulptur 99 x 94 x 53.5 cm / 39 x 37 x 21 in
Sockel 53.5 x 81.5 x 56 cm / 21 x 32 x 22 in
© Joe Bradley
Vehicle
2023
Wood, acrylic paint
Sculpture 41 x 19 x 51 cm / 16 1/8 x 7 1/2 x 20 1/8 in
Pedestal 81 x 33 x 66 cm / 31 7/8 x 13 x 26 in
© Joe Bradley
Repose
2023
Wooden table, bronze
77 x 153 x 76 cm / 30 3/8 x 60 1/4 x 29 7/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2018
Charcoal on paper
Sheet 29 x 21 cm / 11 3/8 x 8 1/4 in
Frame 46.5 x 38 x 4 cm / 18 1/4 x 15 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2023
Graphite on paper
Sheet 30 x 30 cm / 11 3/4 x 11 3/4 in
Frame 40 x 40 x 4 cm / 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2020
Pencil on paper
Sheet 30 x 30 cm / 11 3/4 x 11 3/4 in
Frame 37.5 x 38.5 x 3 cm / 14 3/4 x 15 1/8 x 1 1/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2018
Graphite on paper
Sheet 22 x 30 cm / 8 5/8 x 11 3/4 in
Frame 31.5 x 47.5 x 4 cm / 12 3/8 x 18 3/4 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2014
Graphite on paper
Sheet 28 x 21 cm / 11 x 8 1/4 in
Frame 35 x 28.5 x 4 cm / 13 3/4 x 11 1/4 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2020
Pencil on paper
Sheet 34.5 x 26 cm / 13 1/2 x 10 1/4 in
Frame 42 x 33.5 x 3.5 cm / 16 1/2 x 13 1/4 x 1 3/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2014
India ink on paper
Sheet 25 x 18 cm / 9 7/8 x 7 1/8 in
Frame 30 x 23 x 3 cm / 11 3/4 x 9 x 1 1/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2016
Graphite on paper
Sheet 30 x 23 cm / 11 3/4 x 9 in
Frame 37.5 x 30 x 4 cm / 14 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2019
Graphite on paper
Sheet 28 x 35 cm / 11 x 13 3/4 in
Frame 36 x 43 x 3 cm / 14 1/8 x 16 7/8 x 1 1/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2018
Charcoal on paper
Sheet 23 x 31 cm / 9 x 12 1/4 in
Frame 29 x 37.5 x 4 cm / 11 3/8 x 14 3/4 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2021
Graphite on paper
Sheet 27 x 34 cm / 10 5/8 x 13 3/8 in
Frame 34 x 41 x 4 cm / 13 3/8 x 16 1/8 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2021
Graphite on paper
Sheet 24 x 32 cm / 9 1/2 x 12 5/8 in
Frame 41 x 49 x 4 cm / 16 1/8 x 19 1/4 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2020
Graphite and ink on paper
Sheet 30 x 21 cm / 11 3/4 x 8 1/4 in
Frame 41 x 32 x 4 cm / 16 1/8 x 12 5/8 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2020
Pencil on paper
Sheet 28 x 36 cm / 11 x 14 1/8 in
Frame 35.5 x 43 x 3 cm / 14 x 16 7/8 x 1 1/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2020
Pencil on paper
Sheet 28 x 35 x 3 cm / 11 x 13 3/4 x 1 1/8 in
Frame 36 x 43 x 3 cm / 14 1/8 x 16 7/8 x 1 1/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2016
India ink on paper
Sheet 28 x 22 cm / 11 x 8 5/8 in
Frame 50 x 43.5 x 4 cm / 19 5/8 x 17 1/8 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2016
India ink on paper
Sheet 28 x 22 cm / 11 x 8 5/8 in
Frame 50 x 43.5 x 4 cm / 19 5/8 x 17 1/8 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2016
Graphite on paper
Sheet 30 x 22 cm / 11 3/4 x 8 5/8 in
Frame 47.5 x 40 x 4 cm / 18 3/4 x 15 3/4 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2023
Graphite on paper
Sheet 29 x 21 cm / 11 3/8 x 8 1/4 in
Frame 47 x 38 x 4 cm / 18 1/2 x 15 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2023
Graphite on paper
Sheet 28 x 35 cm / 11 x 13 3/4 in
Frame 45 x 52 x 4 cm / 17 3/4 x 20 1/2 x 1 5/8 in
© Joe Bradley
Untitled
2020
Pencil on paper
Sheet 28 x 35.5 cm / 11 x 14 in
Frame 35.5 x 43 x 3.5 cm / 14 x 16 7/8 x 1 3/8 in
© Joe Bradley