Mark Bradford b. 1961

Mark Bradford is a contemporary American artist known for grid-like abstract paintings combining collage with paint. Born in 1961 in Los Angeles, Bradford studied at the California Institute of the Arts receiving his BFA in 1995 and his MFA is 1997. His artistic influence appeared at a young age, while helping at his mother's hair salon. Even today, many materials such as dye and foil are used in his works. The majority of his work consists of issues dealing with race, gender and class. His work consists of many mediums including video, installations, collaged paintings and sculptures.

Bradford has received several recognitions including the National Medal of the Arts from the US Senate. He was elected as a National Academician by the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts in New York and he was also the recipient of The MacArthur Fellowship, the Wexneer Center Residency Award and the Bucksbaum Award granted by The Whitney Museum of American Art.

His works are in the collection of many major institutions including the Cincinnati Art Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden/The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate, London; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Related categories: Los Angeles Artists, Collage, California Art, Urbanization, The City, Printed Matter, Maps/Networks, Found Objects, Mixed-Media, Text, Focus on Materials, City Scenes, Contemporary Gestural Abstraction, Racial and Ethnic Identity, United States, Use of Common Materials, Cityscapes and City Scenes, Grid, Line, Form, and Color, Representations of Architecture, Contemporary DIY, Process-Oriented, Painting, Engagement with Mass Media, Political, Sculpture