Mark Bradford
Exotica
Hauser & Wirth | Central
CurrentPainting
Beginning 26 September, Hauser & Wirth will present ‘Exotica,’ a solo exhibition of new, formally innovative works by Mark Bradford. In an exhibition that extends the artist’s recent formal and thematic investigations while pushing his practice towards distinctly new inventions, Bradford probes the enduring impact of colonialism and concepts of ‘otherness’ through the lens of individual experience.
‘Exotica’ introduces a signature staining technique, wherein the artist uses caulk to create shadow-like imprints upon the canvas. These forms inject Bradford’s layered compositions with a trace of fantasy, strangeness, and memory. In its diversity of form and material—also encompassing works created with fabric dye, inked-paper, and oxidized paper—the exhibition reflects the continued evolution of Bradford’s play with figuration.
The exhibition’s title references a 1968 encyclopedia that catalogued exotic plants from a western perspective, for a western reader. The text took on special significance for Bradford in the way it reflects a colonial impulse to document and categorize the things perceived as ‘other,’ and the idea that naming something equates to understanding. Bradford took this catalogue as a starting point to consider how we create, imagine, and internalize such concepts of the ‘exotic,’ turning inward to examine his own preconceptions of what things are, and how those same preconceptions define his reality and experience.
- Artists
- Mark Bradford
- Date
- Sep 26, 2024 – Mar 1, 2025
- Venue
- Hauser & Wirth
- Address
- G/F, 8 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong
- Hours
- MonClosed
- Tue11:00 – 19:00
- Wed11:00 – 19:00
- Thu11:00 – 19:00
- Fri11:00 – 19:00
- Sat11:00 – 19:00
- SunClosed
Opening hours may change without notice. Please check official websites or social media before visiting.