Bradley Kerl
Bradley Kerl
Oct 21, 2018 - Dec 02, 2018
Opening Reception:
Sunday, October 21, 2018
1-5pm
Jonathan Hopson is especially proud to announce an exhibition of new work by Houston artist Bradley Kerl. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.
Kerl's work is "inspired by the people, places, and things that surround me and that make up my daily experience." Reminiscent of art historical painters like Manet, Morandi, David Hockney and Peter Doig he is also looking at younger painters Torey Thornton, Daniel Heidkamp, Shara Hughes, and Katherine Berhardt.
Kerl's paintings are unique to many on this esteemed list because of their stoic softness. He is willing to toe the line between timidly lovely and abashedly bold in his depictions of ordinary subjects. The flatness, skewed perspectives, and large areas of bright abstract colors force us into an aesthetic confrontation of surface. The works portray without pretense and at first glance can register as aloof or nonchalant. However, Kerl's subject matter is sincere, he paints what he dearly cares for and loves. This pang of vulnerability seeping through these paintings is what makes them so incredibly captivating.
This exhibition presents a body of new paintings. Kerl's new works are all lush scenes gleaned from his daily life here in Houston, Texas. In Whitney at Ernie's (2018) we see the first appearance of a portrait; a new and exciting change that adds a whole new depth of emotion and conceptual weight to his practice. In Honey's (2018) we see a sloping perspective welcoming us into what seems to be the corner of a lush kitchen or neighborhood nursery. The newest and largest painting, Flower Center (2018), creates the stunning backdrop to the entire exhibit. Visually, this exhibition is a fusion between meticulously hand drawn wallpapers, traditional woodblock prints, and boisterous contemporary painting - Kerl's most exciting works to date.
Bradley Kerl was born in 1986 in Beaumont, TX., and he currently lives and works in Houston, TX. He received his B.F.A. University of North Texas in 2009. He received his M.F.A. from the University of Houston in 2014.
Recent exhibitions include 10 Years 10 Artists, Octavia Art Gallery, New Orleans, LA. (2018), 44 Artists from Texas, Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock, TX. (2018), The Dangerous Professors curated by Ruslana Lichtzier, Flatland Gallery, Houston, TX. (2018), Coyote, Jonathan Hopson, Houston, TX. (2017), and Greenhouse, Galveston Art Center, Galveston, TX. (2017).
Oct 21, 2018 - Dec 02, 2018
Opening Reception:
Sunday, October 21, 2018
1-5pm
Jonathan Hopson is especially proud to announce an exhibition of new work by Houston artist Bradley Kerl. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.
Kerl's work is "inspired by the people, places, and things that surround me and that make up my daily experience." Reminiscent of art historical painters like Manet, Morandi, David Hockney and Peter Doig he is also looking at younger painters Torey Thornton, Daniel Heidkamp, Shara Hughes, and Katherine Berhardt.
Kerl's paintings are unique to many on this esteemed list because of their stoic softness. He is willing to toe the line between timidly lovely and abashedly bold in his depictions of ordinary subjects. The flatness, skewed perspectives, and large areas of bright abstract colors force us into an aesthetic confrontation of surface. The works portray without pretense and at first glance can register as aloof or nonchalant. However, Kerl's subject matter is sincere, he paints what he dearly cares for and loves. This pang of vulnerability seeping through these paintings is what makes them so incredibly captivating.
This exhibition presents a body of new paintings. Kerl's new works are all lush scenes gleaned from his daily life here in Houston, Texas. In Whitney at Ernie's (2018) we see the first appearance of a portrait; a new and exciting change that adds a whole new depth of emotion and conceptual weight to his practice. In Honey's (2018) we see a sloping perspective welcoming us into what seems to be the corner of a lush kitchen or neighborhood nursery. The newest and largest painting, Flower Center (2018), creates the stunning backdrop to the entire exhibit. Visually, this exhibition is a fusion between meticulously hand drawn wallpapers, traditional woodblock prints, and boisterous contemporary painting - Kerl's most exciting works to date.
Bradley Kerl was born in 1986 in Beaumont, TX., and he currently lives and works in Houston, TX. He received his B.F.A. University of North Texas in 2009. He received his M.F.A. from the University of Houston in 2014.
Recent exhibitions include 10 Years 10 Artists, Octavia Art Gallery, New Orleans, LA. (2018), 44 Artists from Texas, Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock, TX. (2018), The Dangerous Professors curated by Ruslana Lichtzier, Flatland Gallery, Houston, TX. (2018), Coyote, Jonathan Hopson, Houston, TX. (2017), and Greenhouse, Galveston Art Center, Galveston, TX. (2017).