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These two quotes clarify my current thinking as a painter better than I can articulate with my own words:
"Art is the elimination of the unnecessary."
--Pablo Picasso
"...the mission of the artist in an overtechnologized, overmasculanized society was to call the old magic back to life."
--Tom Robbins, Skinny Legs and All
I am also thinking of the following themes when i work: Preternatural vs Supernatural. Reclaiming the archetype of the
modern female from the over-sexualized archetype that the commercialized world has given society. The demonization of the
feminine by the Abrahamic religions and the shift of worship from the feminine to the masculine. Intuition. The natural
world, our place in it, and the unnatural boundaries we historically and continually create. The beauty of mystery. Lifting
someone out of their everyday experience.
Brad Kunkle was born in Lehighton, Pennsylvania in 1978. He studied painting at Kutztown University mostly under
George Sorrels, who was taught by a pupil of the 19th century Academic painter, William Adolphe Bougereau. His
minimal palette is inspired by the grisailles of early European masters and the haunting quality of antique photographs and
daguerreotypes. As a decorative painter in his mid twenties, he leafed entire walls in copper. Beguiled by the shifting,
life-like nature of the surfaces, Brad began to incorporate gilding in his work, which provided the surreal quality he had
been looking for to convey his moody, romantic ideas of human nature and ritual.
Brad is represented by Arcadia Gallery in New York, New York. His work has appeared on the covers of International
Artist and American Art Collector magazine as well as in Fine Art Connoisseur, American Arts Quarterly, Hi Fructose and
Kunst. He was featured in American Artist magazine's 75 Greatest Artists of All Time issue as one of the 25 artists of
tomorrow. His 2010 world premiere solo exhibition and his 2012 solo show both sold out opening night at Arcadia
Gallery. He lives and works in New York City.
The Gilded Wilderness Oil, gold, and silver leaf on linen. 42 x 80 inches
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Thirty Thousand Feet Oil and gold leaf on linenf
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Fresh Air Oil and gold leaf on linen
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Halfway Oil, silver and gold leaf on linen
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Islands Oil and gold leaf on linen. 30 x 50 inches
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Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers) Oil, gold, and silver leaf on wood. 36 x 52 inches
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Seer Oil and gold leaf on wood. 17 x 28 inches
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Reclamation Oil and silver leaf on wood
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The Search, 36 x 46 inches, Oil and silver leaf on wood.
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Hear To There, 17 x 15 inches, Oil and silver leaf on linen, Private collection
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The Daughters of Mandelbrot, 50 x 70 inches, Oil and gold leaf on linen
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Mistral, 20 x 16 inches, Oil and silver leaf on linen, Private collection
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October, 15 x 15 inches, Oil and silver leaf on wood, Private collection
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Summoning A Sleeper, 19 x 34 inches, Oil and gold and silver on linen, Private collection
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Imprint of Millais, 11 x 15 inches, Oil and gold and silver on canvas, Private collection
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Truce, 31 x 27 inches, Oil and silver on wood, Private collection
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Collecting Apples, 24 x 44.5 inches, Oil and gold and silver on wood, Private collection
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