On display until May 14th • Open Wednesdays – Sundays
The first thing that comes to mind whenever I see paintings by Katherine Bradford is flesh. Her works frequently feature naked bodies that pulse with life but also color—pink, peach, sand, red, brown, blue, green. Whether swimming through an aquamarine ocean or zooming into the infinite blackness of space, these bodies ooze joy and playful serenity. And with all the constant gray during the late days of winter here in Seattle, viewing her large-scale works is possibly just as effective as sitting in front of a SAD lamp.
Put together by the Portland Museum of Art, Flying Woman: the Paintings of Katherine Bradford at the Frye Art Museum is the Maine and New York-based artist’s first solo survey show in her decades-long career. She began painting at 30 in 1972 but only recently has gotten the attention she deserves. Her exhibition at the Frye encompasses her career from 1999 to 2021, organized chronologically. There, viewers can enjoy her thick, exuberant brushwork that composes both ordinary and spectacular scenes. Like the lighthearted clamor of beach swimmers dodging a giant wave in “Fear of Waves” or the way a city twinkles under the darkness of night in “Super Flyer.” Bradford’s work is an absolute delight!
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