Hyperallergic: The Top 50 Exhibitions of 2022

January 3, 2023

By Hrag Vartanian

December 28th, 2022

24. Flying Woman: The Paintings of Katherine Bradford

Katherine Bradford’s “Fear of Waves” (2015), center, is one of the most prominent works in her survey exhibition at the Portland Museum of Art. (photo Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic)
Katherine Bradford’s “Fear of Waves” (2015), center, is one of the most prominent works in her survey exhibition at the Portland Museum of Art. (photo Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic)

As I explained in my review of the retrospective, Katherine Bradford’s paintings are luscious and visually enthralling. Her superhero and swimmer paintings are some of her best-known series, and they demonstrate the breadth of her painterly talent that feels deeply personal while being engaged with the history of art. Bradford continues to innovate in her work as she finds new ways to apply paint and color to her canvases as their subject matter walks a fine line between representation and stereotype. A glorious celebration of the power of painting by an artist who refuses to rest on her laurels. —HV

Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine (portlandmuseum.org)
June 25–September 11, 2022
Organized by Jaime DeSimone

This article appears in Hyperallergic.

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