Bradley Wood

Canadian artist Bradley Wood paints bold and decadent interiors populated by stylized figures. Engaged in recreational domestic activities, the depicted figures languish in leisure as extravagant artwork, furniture, and fixtures pepper the walls around them. Engulfed in lush textiles, Wood’s figures often sport loud patterns and bright colors that cocoon them in their lush surroundings, as if partially defined by their material possessions. Heavy, glossy oil paint applied to canvas in loose, painterly strokes heightens the perceived mystery of his theatrical characters and their seductive lifestyles.  While the figures in Wood’s paintings often appear relaxed, the viewer’s status as voyeur suggests an ambiguous sense of yearning for the depicted fortunes underscored by a sense of anxiety toward the excess of their display. Fusing together historical precedents with his own dreams, memories, and experiences, Wood’s cinematic canvases offer a behind-the-scenes peek into imaginary playgrounds of affluence. Viewers are thus compelled to acknowledge the human ambivalence toward wealth and indulgence, exploring the nature of one’s attraction to material objects.  

Bradley Wood (b. 1970, Regina, Saskatchewan) lives and works in New York City. He earned a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design with further studies including Art and Experimental Film at CalArts, and Art and Design at Art Center Europe, Montreux, Switzerland. His work has been included in notable exhibitions such as the acclaimed Human Condition group exhibition that took over an abandoned Los Angeles hospital, and the Exit Art Biennial II: Traffic. Select awards and residencies include the Moth Art Prize and residency in Cavan, Ireland; ChaNorth in Pine Plains, NY; the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Workspace residency program at the Woolworth Building; and the AIM (Artists in the Marketplace) Fellowship through the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Wood's work can be found in both private and public collections including a recent acquisition by the Philbrook Museum, Tulsa, OK; Amma Art Foundation, Mexico City, MX; and the NBC Corporate Collection, among others.