Ryan Patrick Bradley
b. 1979 in Stanwood, Washington

EDUCATION:

2003
MFA The School of Visual Arts
2001
BFA The Maryland Institute College of Art

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS :

2008
Summer Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY

2007
Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
Eight Artists, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
U-TURN, Petra Projects, New York, NY

2003
Thesis Exhibition, PPOW Gallery, New York, NY

2002
Turning Page, American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)

Ryan Bradley’s work is large-scale, tightly rendered pastel drawings of the female figure. With an emphasis on mark-making, hyperrealism is achieved by the layering of intricate, repetitive cross-hatching, effectively bringing a crude medium (oft reserved for sketches and preliminary works) to a highly polished state. Void of backdrop or setting, the figures are carved out of space. Edge becomes the prevailing means of shaping negative/positive special relations. The images are driven by the off-beat sensuality of high-fashion photography and the idea of "desire", which evoke an intimate interaction between the viewer and subject. Hinting at sensuality, the inherent emotion in their expression proves to contradict the absence of flux. Exploring the true nature of beauty through the deconstruction of the figure, Ryan Bradley uses high-profile models removed of backdrop, setting, makeup, pretense and guise. It is this natural approach to the female figure that strives to break down modern concepts of fashion form and instead, reduce the figure to the bare essentials of beauty, natural and real, just hair, skin, teeth and flesh. Though abstracted through the migration of complex patterns, specific features are emphasized through the absence of others, suggesting the figures representation in accordance with the guidelines provided.