Slater Bradley
Encyclopedia
Slater Bradley is an American artist and "something of a cult hero" who works in the mediums of photography, drawing, painting, film and video. In 2005, at the age of 30, Bradley became the youngest male artist to have a solo show at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. He is represented by Team Gallery in New York, Max Wigram Gallery in London, Blum & Poe in Los Angeles and Galería Helga de Alvear in Madrid. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
in 1993 and earned a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles
in 1998.
which sacrifices the knight, at Team Gallery in 1999.
He gained notoriety at 25, with his second solo show, Charlatan, also at Team Gallery, which displayed his "real flair for capturing emotional moments" The show featured a video work with actress Chloë Sevigny
standing on a cloudy beach reciting Thomas Mann
's Tonio Kröger
as well as the videos JFK Jr. and Female Gargoyle. In a review of Charlatan, critic Roberta Smith
offers the statement "It is a declaration of artistic intent that makes one eager to see what Mr. Bradley will do next." Next, Bradley introduced the concept of "The Doppelganger
" as a central theme of his work, in 2001 during a show titled Trompe le Monde at Galerie Yvon Lambert in Paris. The video for Trompe le Monde marks the first appearance of The Doppelganger, portrayed by model Ben Brock, a concept which continues to be woven into Bradley's work at present.
In 2002 during the show Here are the Young Men at Team Gallery, Bradley included the video Factory Archives, 2001-2002, which would later become the first out of three videos in the acclaimed Doppelganger Trilogy which involves the subject of "recycled illusions that are the reality of pop culture" which is continually referenced throughout Bradley's work.
By 2004, Slater Bradley was considered a "rising younger artist", having held a solo exhibition in 2003 at the Center for Curatorial Studies Museum at Bard College
and being included in the 2004 Whitney Biennial
with the video Theory and Observation which critic Jerry Saltz described as one of "the most ravishing works in the show". Also in 2004, Bradley showed at the Museum of Modern Art
's Premieres and exhibited the Doppelganger Trilogy at the Los Angeles gallery, Blum & Poe, which was later shown by The Guggenheim in 2005, under the title Recent Acquisitions: Slater Bradley's Doppelganger Trilogy.
In 2010, Bradley held an exhibition at the Whitney Museum in collaboration with Academy Award nominated Cinematographer Ed Lachman
, titled Shadow featuring the Doppelganger as River Phoenix
. Shadow served as a prologue to the unfinished Hollywood film Dark Blood
.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
Early Life and Education
Slater Bradley was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He graduated from San Francisco University High SchoolSan Francisco University High School
San Francisco University High School is an academically focused, college preparatory, private high school located in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California...
in 1993 and earned a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
in 1998.
Career
Bradley launched his career with his first solo show titled The Fried Liver Attack, named after the chess gambitFried Liver Attack
The Fried Liver Attack, also called the Fegatello Attack , is a chess opening. This colourfully named opening is a variation of the Two Knights Defense in which White sacrifices a knight for a superficially impressive attack on Black's king...
which sacrifices the knight, at Team Gallery in 1999.
He gained notoriety at 25, with his second solo show, Charlatan, also at Team Gallery, which displayed his "real flair for capturing emotional moments" The show featured a video work with actress Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Stevens Sevigny is an American film actress, fashion designer and former model. Sevigny gained reputation for her eclectic fashion sense and developed a broad career in the fashion industry in the mid 1990s, both for modeling and for her work at New York's Sassy magazine, which labeled her...
standing on a cloudy beach reciting Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
's Tonio Kröger
Tonio Kröger
Tonio Kröger is a novella by Thomas Mann, written early in 1901, when he was 25. It was first published in 1903.-Plot summary:The narrative follows the course of a man's life from his schoolboy days to his adulthood. The son of a north German merchant and an Italian artist, Tonio inherited...
as well as the videos JFK Jr. and Female Gargoyle. In a review of Charlatan, critic Roberta Smith
Roberta Smith
Roberta Smith is an art critic for the New York Times and a lecturer on contemporary art.Born in New York City and raised in Lawrence, Kansas, Smith studied at Grinnell College in Iowa. Her career in the arts started in 1968 while an undergraduate summer intern at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in...
offers the statement "It is a declaration of artistic intent that makes one eager to see what Mr. Bradley will do next." Next, Bradley introduced the concept of "The Doppelganger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
" as a central theme of his work, in 2001 during a show titled Trompe le Monde at Galerie Yvon Lambert in Paris. The video for Trompe le Monde marks the first appearance of The Doppelganger, portrayed by model Ben Brock, a concept which continues to be woven into Bradley's work at present.
In 2002 during the show Here are the Young Men at Team Gallery, Bradley included the video Factory Archives, 2001-2002, which would later become the first out of three videos in the acclaimed Doppelganger Trilogy which involves the subject of "recycled illusions that are the reality of pop culture" which is continually referenced throughout Bradley's work.
By 2004, Slater Bradley was considered a "rising younger artist", having held a solo exhibition in 2003 at the Center for Curatorial Studies Museum at Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
and being included in the 2004 Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
with the video Theory and Observation which critic Jerry Saltz described as one of "the most ravishing works in the show". Also in 2004, Bradley showed at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
's Premieres and exhibited the Doppelganger Trilogy at the Los Angeles gallery, Blum & Poe, which was later shown by The Guggenheim in 2005, under the title Recent Acquisitions: Slater Bradley's Doppelganger Trilogy.
In 2010, Bradley held an exhibition at the Whitney Museum in collaboration with Academy Award nominated Cinematographer Ed Lachman
Edward Lachman
Edward Lachman A.S.C. is an American cinematographer. Lachman is mostly associated with the American independent film movement, and has served as director of photography on films by Todd Haynes and I'm Not There in 2007 and Steven Soderbergh such as Erin Brockovich ...
, titled Shadow featuring the Doppelganger as River Phoenix
River Phoenix
River Jude Phoenix was an American film actor, musician, and teen icon. He was the oldest brother of fellow actors Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer Phoenix.Phoenix began acting at age 10 in television commercials...
. Shadow served as a prologue to the unfinished Hollywood film Dark Blood
Dark Blood
Dark Blood is an unfinished 1993 film directed by George Sluizer, written by Jim Barton, and starring River Phoenix, Jonathan Pryce, and Judy Davis. In 2011, it was announced that director George Sluizer plans to release the film in 2012...
.