Robert Bradford (M.A.R.C.A) presents the Trash Art Series. We are delighted that as part of our Bath Fringe season we have just opened an exhibition of the internationally acclaimed artist Robert Bradford.
Robert's 'Trash Art Series' is part of the Fringe Arts Bath (FAB) festival and will be open to view at Burdall's Yard until the 12th June every weekday 10am-5pm.
Robert is an incredibly talented and experienced artist who has showcased his works all over the world. With a total of 8 years at art schools Robert studied fine art, painting and trained as a filmmaker. He has worked in 2D and 3D and has some wonderfully creative sculptures. Robert has also shared his talent and knowledge and lectured for five years at San Diego State University teaching painting.
Visit Robert’s website here
The Development Process
The 'Trash Art Series' development process started in 2019 when Robert turned him attention away from sculpture and resuming 2D painting when he lost his almost perfect six year old seaside studio to Council redevelopment.
The first works were a long series of abstract collages on paper called ‘Cuttups’ in which he began to attach old life drawings and other older works on paper onto newly invented backgrounds. He then moved to a live/work studio space…always his ideal and which greatly suited the Covid lockdowns that followed.
For about a year Robert produced large acrylic works on canvas then these works were drawn and adapted largely from internet material and were quite varied in both style and content.
Early in 2021 he made another switch, deciding to rework/recycle many of these works as abstractions, seeking a greater freedom and experimentation into his work process. Usually the figurative works were initially turned upside down or sideways in order to lesson their impact as external representations, before areas of them begun to be deleted and replaced. His aim was to keep some sections of the figuration where possible and all of these works retain varying large or small degrees of such ‘evidence.’
As the new works developed Robert found that responding directly to the underlying forms, spaces and colours of the figurative works helped to trigger new more abstract ideas. Next came the layering of sections of the Cuttup drawings which added a further stimulus, structure, visual depth and a valued ‘history’ to the overall process.
Some the the works use smaller old canvases fixed together irregularly and which tend to have a slightly more casual ’punk look'.
Robert says.
I have always enjoyed questioning what might constitute a ‘contemporary’ painting and like to play with often conflicting elements within a single canvas .. I take particular pleasure when some of these elements surprise me by ‘just about hanging together’ creating what I hope constitutes ‘an edge'.
email: robert.bradford96@gmail.com
website: robertbradford.artweb.com