Joe Bradley's paintings, though abstract, often vaguely allude to the flattened human form and are characterised by a nonchalance, an avoidance of highbrow seriousness or any hint of pomposity. This is particularly the case with his very large Art Informel or CoBrA-style paintings that have a European ambience, with their hot earthy colours, squashed shallow depth, and dense 'found' drop-cloth textures. See Vanguard (2018), Glad Song (2021), or Mistral (2021).
Read MoreBradley is also known for his use of monochromatic panels made of fragile store-bought stretchers. He has made paintings that reference Minimalists like Ellsworth Kelly, such as Police Painting 2 (2008), and freestanding, wide, box-like sculptures that recall Donald Judd, such as those included in his 2016 exhibition at Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Canton Rose. Many of his bold compositions that on occasion resemble human forms standing against the wall are warmly witty and evocative. See Untitled (2006) or The Fisherman's Friend (2005).
Bradley is a prolific drawer, presenting his drawings in large numbers, gridded on one wall, in close proximity to his paintings. They have a cultivated cack-handedness. He also has a deep affection for head comix.Mercurial in temperament and very articulate, Bradley likes to suddenly change direction and pull in unforeseen ingredients to challenge himself.
In 2008, Bradley held an exhibition at Canada gallery, New York that featured his very large 'Schmagoo Paintings'. These were simple, logo-like drawings greatly enlarged on big canvases with their imperfect attendant crud present and not removed. When explaining his thoughts, Bradley saw these badly drawn grease pencil images as spiritual.
As Bradley explains: 'I came across the word "Schmagoo" in a book about New York City drug culture in the 1960's, it was (is?) used as slang for Heroin. This struck me as kind of funny, that a narcotic as deep and dark as Smack could end up with such a goofy nickname. Sounds like a Jewish super hero or something. The word stuck with me, and I began to think of "Schmagoo" as shorthand for some sort of Cosmic Substance... Primordial Muck.' Examples include Superman (2008), Man Made Dirigible (2008), Untitled (2009), and Abelmuth (2008).
