What Next: Ry David Bradley

Ry David Bradley’s painting practice often uses imagery drawn from the internet, pixels, code and augmented reality, manipulating and render- ing them in abstracted material forms.

Words: Kate Britton

WHY PAY ATTENTION?

Ry David Bradley’s intriguing work has caught the eye of collectors and critics alike, with a heady mix of institutional and commercial exhibitions racking up on his CV over the last few years. Australian outings at Sydney’s Artspace and COMA, and Melbourne’s Tristian Koenig, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and National Gallery of Victoria have been bolstered by regular international representation. Bradley regularly shows with Evelyn Yard in London and The Hole in New York, and in 2017 had solo exhibitions in Berlin, New York, Paris and London.

WHAT DOES HE DO?

Bradley’s work attempts to express the digital in physical forms. His painting practice often uses imagery drawn from the internet, pixels, code and augmented reality, manipulating and rendering them in abstracted material forms.

WHAT’S GOING ON?

His latest works are large-scale digital tapestries. Bradley has taken journalistic news images and embellished them so that they are both real and highly constructed. He likens the weaving loom to an early computer: able to recall and run patterns to create his tapestries.

THE ARTIST SAYS…

“For over a decade I have sought to embed digital outcomes in material forms. This led to many explorations of textiles, seeking to create something lasting from the fleeting nature of screen-based life. Right now, it’s hard to deny the divergence between fact and fiction in ram- pant political news cycles, and this is the basis for new large-scale digital tapestries.”

SEE IT AT…

It’s a busy year for Bradley. He will show with Tristian Koenig at the Melbourne Art Fair in August and Gallery 9 at Sydney Contemporary, and in a solo show at Gallery 9 at the same time as the Sydney fair. The Hole in New York is showing Bradley at the Code Art Fair in Denmark and, in that same city, he will debut his first European Kunsthalle solo show at The Herning Museum for Contemporary Art.

This article was originally published in Art Collector issue 85, JULY – SEPT, 2018.