Mark Bradford’s alphabet builds on an ongoing body of work called “merchant posters,” wherein the artist collects local business advertisements in his South Los Angeles neighborhood. Bradford layers and sands down these once-posted signs—featuring phrases such as “Stop Evictions” and “Affordable Daycare"—abstracting their original messaging so that only fragments remain. The result is twenty-six individual works on paper, each depicting a single letter from the English alphabet. By isolating the letters from their original context, they become more symbolic than functional, alluding to the social and economic systems that impact the lives of the people in the community where the materials were found.
Mark Bradford is an American visual artist. Bradford was born, lives, and works in Los Angeles and studied at the California Institute of the Arts. Recognized for his collaged painting works, which have been shown internationally, his practice also encompasses video, print, and installation. Bradford was the U.S. representative for the 2017 Venice Biennale. He was included in Time Magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2021.
Mark Bradford
Studio Museum in Harlem