MARK BRADFORD

‘The Hunt of the Unicorn’ tapestry cycle, thought to have been woven in the Netherlands at the turn of the15th Century, illustrates in rich detail the story of a band of hunters and hounds in pursuit of a unicorn andits eventual capture and death. Often considered to be an allegory for the crucifixion and resurrection fromChristian theology, the tapestries portray a dense, dreamlike world populated by hundreds of plant andanimal species where ecosystems of predator and prey proliferate. Bradford reconstructs this landscapeusing accumulated layers of paper and caulk processed with his signature techniques of sanding, tearingand oxidation. As he dissects the historical legacy of one of Europe’s most beloved works of art, Bradfordilluminates parallels between the contemporary world and the Dark Ages, centering on figures relegatedto the margins of history who are often the last to receive aid and comfort in times of turbulence.

Drawn to Medieval tapestry for its role as a preferred medium of storytelling used by those in power tocement their interpretation of historical events—what Bradford refers to as old-school comic books—here, the artist reinterprets the mode of display and trades the Great Chambers of European châteauxfor a somber, immersive installation at Hauser & Wirth’s Monaco gallery. The tapestry paintings sit onwalls covered in a monumental site-specific paper work, and black globes with bleach-burnt continentshang from the ceiling, creating celestial shards of natural light emerging from a skylight above. Varying insize, the globes hint at the myriad prisms of social, political and economic circumstances through whichindividuals may approach the world.

An additional site-specific work entitled The Map of Hell (2023), inspired by a Botticelli illustrationdepicting the Divine Comedy, is installed in the stairwell leading down to the main gallery space, ajourney reminiscent for Bradford of Virgil’s descent into the bowels of hell. Bradford frequently respondsdirectly to the specificities of the spaces in which he exhibits, interventions that add to the immersive andexperiential nature of the work.

The title of the exhibition, Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen, borrows its name from a traditionalspiritual—songs sung by Africans enslaved in the United States of America during the 17th and 18thCentury. In keeping the titular ‘I’ unidentified, Bradford withholds answers, explanations or prescriptions,leaving the socio-critical impact of the work to flow from its material and thematic resonance.

Also on view as part of the program in Monaco, a large-scale standing mobile sculpture by AlexanderCalder, entitled Slender Legs (1959), is displayed next to the gallery in the Jardins des Boulingrins until30 November 2023.