LOS ANGELES-BASED ARTIST Mark Bradford is among the 10 most expensive living West Coast artists, according to artnet News. Last year, his 2008 mixed-media collage “Mithra,” sold for more than $2.6 million at auction, a record for the artist. The impressive price earned him a No. 7 ranking among artists including Ed Ruscha, Mark Grotjahn, Wayne Thiebaud and Paul McCarthy, who top the list.
“For his installation Mithra (2008), inspired by Hurricane Katrina, Bradford built a 64-foot ark of salvaged plywood in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans for an exhibition commemorating the destructive event. His mixed-media collage of the same name, Mithra (2008), which sold at Sotheby’s in 2013 for $2,629,000 (more than four times its low estimate of $600,000), holds the artist’s record at auction.” — artnet News
Bradford explores social justice issues through collage paintings composed of multiple layers of discard paper, flyers and posters found near his studio. The cleverly titled works are defined by precise cuts and rhythmic tears that replicate the street grids and topographical elevations of maps. CT
IMAGE: “Mithra,” 2008 (mixed-media collage on canvas) by Mark Bradford.
