22 Oct 2019

Katherine Bradford: Artists, Cops and Circus People

Campoli Presti

Reviewed by Dana Gordon

Katherine Bradford's paintings do not rest on narrative or identity. They contain mystery and implication, even humor, but one can't parse them. That would subjugate the artist. Instead the works succeed due to her mastery of abstract visual qualities and how she imbues them with intelligence and feeling. There is no recipe for this, for artist or viewer. You just keep working until the result catches your eye. Verbal thoughts don't enter the process - your eye, your eye's mind, does the labor.

Large, distinct areas of color, and a soft but unmissable line, look like the artist brushed them on with apparent ease. But the composition of the paintings and the deportment of the figures required continued reinvention until they had the right feel. She raises mundane acrylics to make color emanate light, the paint benefiting from her particular touch. These strong and original paintings arise from abstraction, and reflect the powerful achievements of the New York School, among which all New York artists live.