Dove Bradshaw

Critical text

Dove Bradshaw (b. 1949, New York) utilizes the possibilities of chance as a creative medium: time, weather, atmospheric conditions and the chemistry of the elements are the main agents of her pictorial and sculptural work. In her works, the artist takes on the role of an activator by applying chemicals, e.g. on a canvas or combining natural substances among themselves.In the meanwhile, she allows the physiological dynamics of interaction among substances, and thus of creation, to develop independently, in an uncontrolled way, according to the physical and chemical possibilities of the matter itself. The merged materials then develop in the work until the artist stops the ongoing formation. The process often eludes the human eye, due to its manifestation on the border between “macro” interactions – like phenomena of erosion and oxidation – and energies on a micro-scale, such as radio waves or telescopic signals transmitted by the planets of the solar system. The mystery of the origins of these phenomena is the poetic key through which to open the interpretation of Bradshaw’s oeuvre. The encounter with the work is always a moment of discovery and revelation for the observer. The ineffable character of what is observed and the sacred nature of the unknown transform the natural phenomenon into an intimate experience. Her works are included in the collections of some of the most important museums, such as MoMA and the Met in New York, and the British Museum in London.

Text by Lorenzo Giusti