Mark Bradford

Lombard-Freid Fine Arts, New York
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2001

Herford, Marta Herford, Invisible Shadows - Images of Uncertainty, 2010

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the overall tonality is slightly richer and warmer in the original. The catalogue illustration fails to convey fully the rich surface texture of the collage apparent in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is a small patch of light drying craquelure to the white pigment at the centre of lower extreme edge. There is a small loss and a tiny associated spot of lifting to the right of centre on the lower extreme edge. A small spot of wear is visible to the lower right extreme corner tip. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The richly nuanced collage surfaces that characterise Mark Bradford's practise are physically beautiful and spontaneously compelling. Yet they reveal only the tip of the metaphorical iceberg of the processes and thoughts that contribute to their archaeologically encrusted forms. Fashioned from the colourful litter and assorted urban detritus that the artist gathers from the streets surrounding his home and studio in South Los Angeles, Bradford's material-laden paintings immortalise the signs and the subtexts of our cultural landscape.

When asked if he's seeking answers or revealing truths, he answers simply, "Both." Replete with issues of identity, class, commerce, race, gender, sexuality and art history, both historically and conceptually, these works represent one of the most challenging  and exciting new directions for abstract art at the beginning 21st century. For the readymade, found materials that Bradford employs are as multihued and multilingual as the streets from which their DNA derives, offering an overview of the global nature of contemporary existence. You Must Have Fell and Hit Your Head (2001), is one of the artist's most celebrated early works. In it he incorporates for the first time remnants of a found billboard poster within a sea of repeating pastel coloured hair-dyed permanent endpapers. These small rectangular tissues folded over the ends of hair during the perming process were the everyday tools of his mother's beauty salon trade where Bradford worked part-time as a stylist for several years having recently graduated. They provided him with a wonderfully simple staple from which his first groundbreaking collages took shape and the foundations upon which his subsequent oeuvre and reputation has developed.

The effect of the overlaid translucent endpapers in You Must Have Fell and Hit Your Head is like a city grid viewed from above, with pockets of colour perhaps denoting population density or urban zones; or something perhaps more ephemeral and less tangible as the title of the work suggests. Form and colour fluidly morph together here as Bradford traverses the path between figuration and abstraction in a densely layered composition which combines the philosophical interests of 20th century urban abstraction with the raw Pop spontaneity of street art.