Joe Bradley Bhoga Marga at PETZEL

James Kalm brings viewers along for a leisurely Friday afternoon stroll-through of “Bhoga Marga,” the most recent presentation of works by Joe Bradley. Bradley seems to have led a charmed life, at least in regards to his painting career, having received a one-person museum exhibition at PS1 only three years after graduating from Rhode Island School of Design. In 2014, the artist was featured in the watershed painting exhibition The Forever Now: Contemporary Painting in an Atemporal World at MoMA (curated by Laura Hoptman). Known for his “trickster” shifts in modalities and referencing disparate catagories of painterly history, Bradley is always thought provoking, despite the attractive pleasantness of his production. A musical introduction was captured that features Max Lee. This program was recorded March 18, 2022. #jameskalmreport #jameskalmroughcut #lorenmunk

[@boogieboxmusic4331]

I really like Joe Bradley's work.. Many thanks James and Kate..

[@andrewkostelnyk272]

Hi James greetings from the UK -England - these paintings by Joe Bradley are the strongest i ve seen of his work -they remind me of Don Van Vliet/Capt Beefhearts work -the colour is strong/bold-thanks for this!

[@larsetom1]

Thanks JK. It is great to see what Joe Bradley is doing now. I have only been aware of him for a few years but he's someone whose work I admire very much.

[@Lover_warrior]

Thank you James and Kate ❣️ my morning coffee tips in your direction.

[@richardmcellistremartist8298]

Thanks good show

[@simonlinke1]

Thank you Loren!

[@tonsfocus]

Brilliant video James, thank you so much! Have to laugh a little - someone commented recently that you always seem to shout out Kathy Bradford and Chris Martin - and voila - you did not disappoint! (And yes, I do understand that all these fine folks are Williams-burglars.) As for Joe Bradley's latest - I have to agree somewhat with Mike Witmer - in this instance, I sense a certain rushing of these "to market." Maybe he really did bust these out in just a few months? But, I would read it more that, once again, he is making a fairly abrupt change of course, though not as drastic as his jump from ultra-minimal figures to his amazing works on raw canvas or tarps. I've spent hours looking hard and long at his works from that phase, and I see these falling a bit short, but applaud the launch in a very new direction. Big ups for your reference to Markus Lüpertz. In this Fourth Turning era, I suppose anyone can be forgiven for rushing things. Thank you James, and Kate...

[@Chron_Dawg78]

these are great, thanks

[@smaeioh]

Yay! Thanks so much! Hoping you would go!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@LISACURD]

Sending good vibes.. Thank you, Kate..!

[@robsmith588]

really great work

[@jlarrify]

Love the debate. I think it gets harder as you become more successful. Something was on my mind about these that I couldn’t pinpoint. I dunno, maybe I need to think on these like a fine wine. They are great, but are they just a product now? But much respect to all artists putting their work out there for scrutiny. And thank you Kate!

[@chezceleste]

Thank you Kate.

[@KM-mv1ho]

That was enjoyable!

[@ranajitadhikary4214]

Thank you ❤️ from India

[@benstephenson4514]

Thank you Kate

[@sandrafranke7530]

Comment from Toronto: love Bradley’s wandering lines. If Stuart Davies lived today.

[@dalevoelkerfineart]

Well done! I am curious-do NY artists with giant canvases store and transport them rolled and assemble and stretch them at the gallery? Seems like transporting and storing such large pieces in the city would be difficult and costly.

[@ThePooper3000]

I assume that artists represented by big galleries, like Joe Bradley, can more than afford to pay whatever transportation costs their large canvases might incur.

[@dalevoelkerfineart]

@@ThePooper3000 True... but some of the galleries and artists JK covers are not that established.

[@bodybyvlad2]

Very impressive

[@gavinyates9189]

Thank you kate, thank you everybody.

[@roygreen5522]

Bradley works on canvas drop cloths i think...that explains the seams and wrinkles perhaps?

[@louhawk559]

( the Complete basquiat) on utube a new channel with unseen works and jazz playing on slideshow. Thanks.

[@MikeWitmerNatureJournal]

I was at first attracted to this guys work but looking longer I was just not too excited. At his best deKooning was a genius but even he had to struggle at times as evidenced by the pentimenti leading to the final genius moves he allowed to remain. This guy seems kind of casual and a bit too accepting of whatever ends up being there on the canvas. I would guess he hardly ever throws out a painting. There's a grittiness that's appealing in all his work but in the end it comes across as skimpy painting. Just my take. Matisse was casual but there was some order and reason for it and something revelatory coming from his mind and hand and eye. I have seen plenty of things that were thinly painted and quickly made that were still awesome, so it isn't that.

[@jameskalm]

If you’re using de Kooning or even Matisse as your standards against which you measure all other painters, you’re already talking about stuff that’s at least half a century old. There are “myths” that have been cultivated about them, and their production, that might have been relevant in 1964, but I don’t know if those “myths” are the same “myths” we need to see the world of painting through today …Not having “myths” to believe in is frightening, so go out and make your own…

[@TD-qi2rw]

@@jameskalm What a healthy and adult exchange. Thanks Kate

[@marleylevon]

@@jameskalm wow James, really disappointed with this response…

[@casket8530]

@@marleylevon Why? he made great points.

[@marleylevon]

@@casket8530 His point is very narrow minded to say the least. The statement that a work of art is irrelevant because it is half a century old is as brainless as calling any painting that is made nowadays new and somehow original. But I guess Mr. jameskalm looks at art as if it was fashion and qualify’s anything made recently as a step forward totally being clueless of timelessness of art. He also totally missed the point of comparison of joe bradley with Matisse and de Kooning, as if it was made randomly because they are such mythical figure’s. The comparison has all the rights to be because Joe Bradley’s work is in the same route as of the Matisse and de Kooning, but lack’s the same qualities and doesn’t bring anything new. The only “myth” there is, is mr. jameskalm’s lack of taste as an art critic, which he is so frightened to expose that he attacks constructive criticism with arguments like “so go out and make your own”

[@laro802]

Just when I thought Joe Bradley's work couldn't get any worse.

[@d.l.7399]

Art Today is, when one thinks, it's art... Or could be...

[@louhawk559]

Whats the value of these James?. That part is always missing my brother🧐 by the way take a short peak at my work .a short home gallery clip. Hit thumbnail. Its on one video of 3 Thanks.

[@m.e.4579]

Compare the groundstructure of these paintings with some of jasper johns paintings.

[@italogiardina8183]

A red-spotted daffy duck appeared.

[@marleylevon]

Love Joe Bradley but this is a step backwards

[@edplunk600]

Seeing this does not make me miss NY. Glad to be out of over-priced Brooklyn and NY with it's over-priced art.

[@jaydubya3698]

Right when you were talking about comparing Bradley's work here to Hockney's California landscapes, I had the same thought...both bodies of work seem to come from roughly the same place (or perhaps Bradley's sort of mimicing Hockney, who knows?), though Bradley's pieces are less influenced by the idea of landscape. But in comparing the two, Bradley's work, to me, is less successful in color harmony, less successful in vision, and less successful in intent. I mean, the guy has always been about being very raw and very intuitive which, for me, sometimes works (there's nothing wrong with footprints) but more often times fails. He just seems to be sort of aimless in color, form, and design, which is maybe what's part of his appeal (yes, he's one of the original "casuals"), but I don't know. It's hard to put my finger on. It's like it's too much but not enough. As for his drawings, nah. Forgetaboutit.

[@benblume6623]

For me the work is about not trying to be good, harmonic, or anything. I think it is a very free approach to all kinds of combinations, it is about searching, and also being stupid, and just do things which might not work, or are very out of context. When I look longer, and when I am opened for that, it gives me a weird very big feeling, cause its so strange, and so much of nothing really, that it opens up my understanding of what painting could be. One big part is his attitude of being kind of reckless, and I think this is a powerful act. What it shows me a lot, if I am judgy and I am not open of the work speaking to me, that I see nothing in it, and I think its stupid and weak and lacking of idea. But if I am free and just letting the work speak, without contexualzing and stuff, I think it has a strong power. Maybe a little bit too many works in that space, and I would like to see the edges which are covered by the frame. I think Joe Bradley does a very good job by defining finely the times we are living inside the (painting) art world. He must be a clever man

[@jaydubya3698]

@@benblume6623 Yes...I get where you're coming from regarding his being open and not thinking too hard about what to do and where to go with a composition. I think the very best ab/ex and bad painting types do this quite well. But I just feel like most of the time the work is almost so random that it points to a place that's nearly devoid of both thought AND visual intuition. It's like he's saying to himself and the viewer, "Let's see just how far I can go with throwing everything, absolutely everything, out the window." Or, maybe more cynically, what's the least visually satisfying combination of color, form and execution that I can get to before the painting just isn't a really a "painting" anymore? How much will the viewer tolerate? Where is that line in the sand? Which is an interesting thought experiment I suppose, but maybe I'm just too old school for that. I mean, I like paintings by humans, not by elephants.

[@cliffdariff74]

seems like there is a lot of figuration in several of these paintings... surprised you hadn't mentioned. I saw several faces, or heads etc.

[@jameskalm]

Yeah, I saw some puppies...

[@robsmith588]

@@jameskalm I saw a pizza slice

[@cliffdariff74]

@@jameskalm:) at 12:05 there's a blue jazz musician on upper left playing a stand-up bass... (title of this panting is "Music")... last panting reminds of Jean Dubuffet

[@TODDZEN]

dizzying, wobbly camera makes viewing the Art painful. Nice Paintings.

[@rutbrea8796]

Hahaha yeah 🤣😆😅 yeah 👶🚼🍼🤱Hahaha baloney

[@michaelrowe1907]

Thank you Kate