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Mark Bradford

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description Mark Bradford Overview

Mark Bradford is an American artist born in 1961 in Los Angeles, known for large-scale abstract works that incorporate materials collected from urban environments. He creates layered surfaces using paper, advertisements, and other found materials gathered from South Central Los Angeles, where he grew up. He represented the United States at the 2017 Venice Biennale with his exhibition "Tomorrow is Another Day." His work addresses issues of race, class, and urban life, and he received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2009. He founded Art + Practice, an organization supporting foster youth and providing art education in Los Angeles.

help Mark Bradford FAQ

What materials does Mark Bradford use instead of ordinary paint?

Bradford builds surfaces from merchant posters, endpapers, newsprint, string, and other material gathered from urban streets. He sands, tears, and excavates the layers, making each work resemble both an abstract painting and a damaged city map.

What did Mark Bradford show at the 2017 Venice Biennale?

Bradford represented the United States with Tomorrow Is Another Day at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017. The pavilion combined large abstract works with an installation that altered how visitors entered its neoclassical rooms.

Why do maps and street grids appear in Mark Bradford's paintings?

Bradford draws on the visual structure of Los Angeles, including roads, advertisements, boundaries, and patterns of segregation. Works such as Los Angeles use abstraction to address how race, wealth, and movement shape an urban landscape.

What is the connection between Mark Bradford and Art + Practice?

Bradford co-founded Art + Practice in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles with Allan DiCastro and Eileen Harris Norton. The nonprofit combines exhibitions with support for young people transitioning out of foster care.