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Lot Essay
'At first glance, Joe Bradley's abstract, monochromatic canvases look like experiments in Minimalism; longer viewing, however, reveals surprising levels of figuration and what Bradley calls an 'intentional shoddiness' that points to a dissatisfaction with the narrative of twentieth-century painting. His depictions of people, animals, places, and objects are visually distilled rectangles of colour and blocky forms that, hung in sets on the wall, communicate an overall sense of theatre and movement. Described by the artist as expressively 'pathetic' takes on heroic, large-scale Colour Field works, they have the primitive feel of ancient totemic sculptures. At the same time, subtle colour variations and surface texturing on the flimsy, store-bought canvases belie the fetishised perfection the paintings allude to. By grouping his works as installations, Bradley injects additional character into each piece, letting them interact as families of energised titles.' (H. Huldisch & S.M. Momin (eds.), The 74th Whitney Biennial, exh. cat., New York, 2008, p. 106).