NEW YORK—Mark Bradford was born in Los Angeles where he still lives, works and sources the materials for his evocative collages and installations that explore social and cultural issues. For nearly a decade, he has been transoforming the remnants of billboards, magazines and other paper matter found near his Leimert Park studio into paper mache soccer balls. He first created the sculptural spheres for the California Biennial in 2004. In 2009, Bradford produced 10 such works for the New Museum booth at the Armory Show, and for an exhibit with Kara Walker at Sikkema Jenkins, he used a net to corral a collection of the collaged spheres for a large sculpture. Currently, a more modest-size version of the sculpture is on view at the Sikkema Jenkins gallery.
A 2009 MacArthur Fellow, Bradford spent last year at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago for a yearlong “audience participation residency.” The Mark Bradford Project culminated with a survey of the artist’s work, exhibited from May 28 to Sept. 11, 2011.
Photos by Arts Observer
Above, “Soccer Ball Bag 3,” 2011 (nylon string and paper on soccer balls) by Mark Bradford at Sikkema Jenkins (the gallery represents the artist). Top of page, Detail of “Soccer Ball Bag 3; In background, “Untitled (Montpelier),” 2002 (charcoal on paper) by Trisha Brown.