Painter Katherine Bradford approaches abstraction and figurative painting in a wholly personal and unpredictable way. Her canvases, comprised of multiple thin, semi-transparent layers of acrylic paint, with hints of pentimenti, are built up over months and sometimes years. Drawn to aquatic themes, Bradford likens water to the act of painting both are immersive and wild, yet controllable. The work is populated by a cast of characters from swimmers and bathers to superman and superheroes and, most recently, mothers suspended in expanses of vibrant colour. These figures, who often defy society s expectations, oftentimes serve as surrogates for the artist herself: mother, painter, and lesbian coming of age at the turn of the twenty first century. The volume includes two substantive essays: by Jaime DeSimone, curator of the exhibition, and Nancy Princenthal, the well-known critic and historian who has devoted much of her writing to women artists. The book also includes an interview with the artist conducted by DeSimone and an extensive illustrated chronology of the artist s life.
