Alumnus Mark Bradford’s First Los Angeles Museum Show at the Hammer Museum

MB.02_photo Robert Wedemeyer

Mark Bradford, 'Test 1,' mixed media on canvas, 62 in. x 48 in., 2015. | Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Robert Wedemeyer.

MB.04_photo Robert Wedemeyer

Mark Bradford, 'Test 3,' mixed media on canvas, 62 in. x 48 in., 2015. | Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Robert Wedemeyer.

MB.05_photo Robert Wedemeyer

Mark Bradford, 'Dead Hummingbird,' mixed media on canvas, 84 in. x 108 in., 2015. | Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Robert Wedemeyer.

MB.07_photo Robert Wedemeyer

Mark Bradford, 'The Next Hot Line,' mixed media on canvas, 84 in. x 108 in., 2015. | Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Robert Wedemeyer.

On June 20, the Hammer Museum in Westwood presents Mark Bradford: Scorched Earth, a major Los Angeles solo show of visual artist and CalArts alumnus Mark Bradford’s (Art BFA 95, MFA 97) work.

“Despite his international acclaim, Bradford has yet to have a solo museum exhibition here in his hometown of Los Angeles, and we are thrilled to help make it happen,” says director of the Hammer Museum Ann Philbin.

For Scorched Earth, Hammer curators Connie Butler and Jamillah James bring together work that reflect Bradford’s artistic practice, social activism and history as a native Angeleno. Twelve new paintings, including a major work installed in the Hammer’s lobby wall, reflect an art practice informed by feminist and queer politics and contemplates what the artist has called, “the body in crisis.”

Bradford, whose works have been exhibited worldwide and in group exhibitions throughout Los Angeles, is the recipient of numerous awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 2009 and the 2015 US State Department Medal of Arts.

Above are selected works from the exhibit. Mark Bradford: Scorched Earth is on view through Sept. 27.

Update: The New Yorker ran a feature on the artist in its June 22 issue. Read the entire article here.