Untitled (Black Bust)

“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… Described by the artist as expressively ‘pathetic’ takes on heroic, large-scale Color Field works, they have the primitive feel of ancient totemic sculptures. At the same time, subtle color variations and surface texturing on flimsy store-bought canvases belie the fetishized perfection the paintings allude to.” (T.D. Whitney Biennial, 2008, p. 106)