Contemporary figurative painter Justin Bradshaw was born in London but has been living in Italy for the last 20 years where he works full time as an artist. Karin Clarke Gallery is pleased to offer a small selection of his work to their discerning audience in Eugene, Oregon.
Bradshaw’s pictorial narrative recalls the sophistication of Italian Mannerists as well as Flemish realist painters. His surprising technique has been honed over years of careful research, leading to a considerable mastery of color and light and a technique wherein multiple thin layers of oil paint are built up on metallic supports (copper and zinc). His notable familiarity with the technique of glazing compares favorably with contemporary masters like Paul Cadden and Ralph Goings. Not unlike Goings, Bradshaw’s realism translates an intimate retelling of the indecipherable lives ‘of others’ into a ‘Pop’ reality, a condition where objects and bodies assume value for what they are. He does not distance himself from them, recounting their condition beyond a hypothetical individual existence. They appear, and that which they reveal is no more than their place in an epic reality which cannot hide their inadequacy. Here the objects and characters that are depicted reveal their essence. They are without history or function, they are ‘spent tubes of paint and keys hanging unused, for locks that perhaps no longer exist’.
- Fabio Galadini, Direttore Civitafestival
BIOGRAPHY
born: 2nd March 1971, London
studied at City and East London Art College 1989-91
moved to Rome in 1995
moved to Civita Castellana in 2004