Project Ability is pleased to present a solo exhibition by ReConnect artist David Bradley.
David Bradley’s work deals primarily with observations; of people, situations, places, social hierarchies, personal and political psychologies, and many other multifaceted mores of the human condition. These paintings are not simply depictions of people; they have no singular identity, no sitter, no subject, no name. They explore the idea that portraiture has, amongst other complex attributions and projections unique to the artist, the ability to dig deep into the reflectiveness of observation.
“…something inside of me is coming out,
digging deep and getting rid,
deeper, it’s constant.”
David’s work is a diary-like chronicle of his observations of the people and situations that surround him, subtitling these everyday scenes by painting them with a recurring characteristic of the emphasised nose; a motif which has become his trade mark. Every image the artist creates has personal significance, whether it is stimulated by a particular mood, reflection, or thwarting moment. By the artist’s own admission, it is amazing what can happen by accident, emphasising the idea that everyday life happens alongside his art.
‘…making mistakes is important.’
For his first solo exhibition, David also presents a selection of his paintings of the cities. We associate landscape painting with the picturesque but with these depictions of city streets and the forcefulness of keeping such places maintained, the angles and skewed perspectives of the paintings echo some of the tension we see in his portraits. David talks about a point at which an interest in other people and other people’s work takes over, like the painters of the German Expressionist movement for instance. Through this we see that these influences invariably collapse and return to the distinctive visualisations and perceptions of the artist.
David Bradley recently exhibited in ‘The Dizziness of Freedom‘ in the Bermondsey Project, London as part of ‘Anxiety 2014‘, a new London-wide arts festival curated by the Mental Health Foundation.
