Katherine Bradford

Katherine Bradford

BornNationalityBased In
1942AmericanNew York City, Brooklyn
Biography

Katherine Bradford was born in New York, 1942. she lives and works in New York. Bradford’s mesmerizing yet rigorous visual language freely traverses the relationship between nonobjective and representational painting, allowing potential narratives to unfold and interweave with the investigation of form and color. Vast expanses of color divide her canvases into distinct horizontal planes while the variations in saturation and tone evoke an elusive yet almost palpable atmosphere. Lighter and darker hues are interchangeable and used without functional or hierarchical distinction, introducing spatial elements such as the sea and the sky, beaches and poolsides. These monochromatic backgrounds are occupied by human figures, often swimmers and bathers, whose androgynous, featureless bodies are roughly sketched. Driven by an unbiased curiosity, the artist allows her imagery to acquire a porous malleability where a pictorial sign becomes a signifier. Bradford’s practice has honed over four decades, maturing into a nonacademic, creative freedom that resonates deeply with the aesthetical and socio-political concerns of our time. It is her commitment to dynamic change and to the fluid state of human togetherness that Bradford so poignantly expresses in her radiant liquid fields. ...

Selected Artworks
Parent and Child in Water
Katherine Bradford
Parent and Child in Water, 2025
35.5 x 28cm
House by the Sea and Wader
Katherine Bradford
House by the Sea and Wader, 2025
35.5 x 28cm
At the Edge of the Lake
Katherine Bradford
At the Edge of the Lake, 2024
51 x 40.5cm
Yellow Suits Yellow Sand
Katherine Bradford
Yellow Suits Yellow Sand, 2025
20 x 25.5cm
Surfers with Surf Boards
Katherine Bradford
Surfers with Surf Boards, 2021
101.6 x 76.2cm
Swimmers and Their Lifeguard
Katherine Bradford
Swimmers and Their Lifeguard, 2021
101.6 x 76.2cm
Water Jumpers
Katherine Bradford
Water Jumpers, 2021
122.56 x 91.44cm
Swan Dive with Onlooker
Katherine Bradford
Swan Dive with Onlooker, 2021
167.64 x 142.24cm
Drinks by the Pool
Katherine Bradford
Drinks by the Pool, 2021
152.4 x 182.88cm
Listening to Music by the Sea
Katherine Bradford
Listening to Music by the Sea, 2021
182.88 x 152.4cm
Swimmers on Yellow Sand
Katherine Bradford
Swimmers on Yellow Sand, 2021
182.88 x 152.4cm
Lifeguards in the Sky
Katherine Bradford
Lifeguards in the Sky, 2021
182.88 x 152.4cm
The winner
Katherine Bradford
The winner, 2021
203.2 x 172.7cm
Neighborhood Pool
Katherine Bradford
Neighborhood Pool, 2022
203.2 x 345.44cm
Pool Side Swimmer
Katherine Bradford
Pool Side Swimmer, 2022
121.6 x 91.4 x 4.1cm
Seven Swimmers
Katherine Bradford
Seven Swimmers, 2022
101.6 x 76.2cm
Purple Suit and Turquiose Sky
Katherine Bradford
Purple Suit and Turquiose Sky, 2025
30.5 x 23cm
Swim Team
Katherine Bradford
Swim Team, 2025
20 x 25.5cm
Standing Tall House by the Sea
Katherine Bradford
Standing Tall House by the Sea, 2025
40.5 x 51cm
Close Couple Purple
Katherine Bradford
Close Couple Purple, 2022
30.5 x 23cm
Double Divers and Onlooker
Katherine Bradford
Double Divers and Onlooker, 2020
28 x 35.5cm
House by the Sea with 3 Surf Waders
Katherine Bradford
House by the Sea with 3 Surf Waders, 2022
35.5 x 28cm
Woman on the Shore of her Town
Katherine Bradford
Woman on the Shore of her Town, 2025
28 x 35.5cm
Swimmer with Rainbow
Katherine Bradford
Swimmer with Rainbow, 2025
35.5 x 28cm
Figure Walking out to Sea
Katherine Bradford
Figure Walking out to Sea, 2024
203 x 172.5cm
Carry Painting, Mother
Katherine Bradford
Carry Painting, Mother, 2023
203 x 172.5cm
Talkers and Listeners
Katherine Bradford
Talkers and Listeners, 2023
203 x 345cm
Waiting Room Blue
Katherine Bradford
Waiting Room Blue, 2023
203 x 345cm
Swimmers by the Town
Katherine Bradford
Swimmers by the Town, 2024
203 x 172.5cm
Gallery Representation
Awards
Guggenheim Fellowship2011
Guggenheim Fellowship2011
Biennals
Venice Biennial2019 - Venice
Venice Biennial2019 - Venice
Prospect New Orleans2017 - New Orleans
Prospect New Orleans2017 - New Orleans
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