About the Exhibit - ‘Cerberus’

‘Cerberus’ was actually Mark Bradford’s first exhibit at Hauser’s London location, which opened during Frieze London (Oct 2019).

The name ‘Cerberus’ refers to the mythological three headed dog that guards the entrance to Hades. 

“‘Cerberus’ is an exhibition dedicated to places difficult and in-between, where conflicts arise, but also where the hope of resolution is to be found.” (source) 

“I have always been interested in pulling the world that exists beyond the studio walls, and outside the art world, into the work.’ The titles ‘Cerberus’ and ‘Gatekeeper’ (2019) make metaphorical reference to notions of containment, of pressure building to an incendiary point, and also the idea of a border as a juncture or gathering place.” - Mark Bradford (source)

I’ve tried to include some up close shots so you can see Bradfords signature technique which consists of many layers of various materials like paint and paper.

"I decided to make a three-dimensional painting that doesn't have a frame around it. It's the same fragments of paper, just less formal. It's part sculpture, part painting—an in-between thing." - Mark Bradford

“You know, I grew up in a very unstructured environment; I grew up in a fluid environment. My mother was an orphan very young – at three. She was raised by family members. So she has a very organic, ‘go with the flow’ kind of thing, and when she had me, we went with the flow. I think that whatever you naturally have, you always look for a little bit of the other. So structure was something I was always trying for – well, I was kind of fake-looking for it.”- Mark Bradford for Art Review (source) 

“Mark Bradford's art may look like paintings, but there's hardly any paint on them. They're made out of layers and layers of paper, which he tears, glues, power washes and sands in a style all his own. When he began making art in his 30's, Bradford couldn't afford expensive paint, so he started experimenting with endpapers, that are used for styling hair. He got the idea while working as a hair stylist in his mom's beauty shop in South Los Angeles. He was broke, struggling, and didn't sell his first painting until he was nearly 40.” - Anderson Cooper (source) 

About the Artist

“Bradford's abstract canvases, which often deal with complex social and political issues, hang in major museums around the world, as well as private collections” - Anderson Cooper (source) 

Mark Bradford was born in 1961 and currently lives and works in L.A. He received his BFA and MFA from CalArts. 

He’s received many awards over his lifetime, but he received the famous MacArthur Genius Award in 2009. 

He’s represented by Hauser & Wirth Gallery, no big deal. 

In 2014 Bradford co-founded “Art + Practice (A+P), a nonprofit organization that grew out of his community work, with the assistance of his partner, Allan DiCastro, and philanthropist and art collector Eileen Harris Norton, in 2014.” (source)