Born 1980 in Louisville, Kentucky (USA)
Education
2003–2005 Slade School of Art - MFA Painting - London, England
1998–2003 Pratt Institute - BFA Film - Brooklyn, New York, USA
There are multitudes of signals and systems that govern our cities and imperceptibly determine our everyday movement. Artist Brad Downey stakes a claim for the right of the individual to interpret and understand these systems, and thus regain power in the public arena.
As a public, we are acclimatized to these signs and beacons,
and their subtle manipulation and proliferation can go undetected. Brad Downey, via his art, shines a light on this institutional regulation of public behavior. By wider awareness of these controls, his viewing public, he hopes, will gain greater understanding of his own urban and social situation.
Subtle, comic and very often provocative, Downey aims to
surprise the viewer by illuminating how public and private property, and urban space and personal experience, overlap in
an era of increasing privatization. He finds forgotten remnants of urban architecture to re-invent and rejuvenate. These are
then re-inserted into the everyday landscape. The works are a temporary disruption, usually remaining in place for as short
a time as a few minutes, but also sometimes becoming a permanent fixture in the landscape of the metropolis
Brad Downey is a graduate of the Fine Art Master's programme
in painting at London's prestigious Slade School of Art, where
he studied under Bruce McLean. He grew up in a United States Marine Corps family that settled in many towns and cities across the United States. This upbringing gave him unique insight
into the variations and similarities in the 20th century urban environment. His studies at Pratt Art Institute drew him to New York City in 1998, the city that catapulted his unique approach to fine art. Stimulated by the buzz of the city, he began to
seek out alternative artistic methods for reacting to his urban environment.
Brad Downey uses film, sculpture, painting and drawing, among other media, and is currently situated in Berlin.
Brad Downey is also a Kentucky Colonel.
Official Commissions
2007
Long Weight - O Ashford Temporary Artworks for the Tour de France,received a SEEDA Arts Plus award in Ashford, England
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me - Peacock Visual Arts in Aberdeen, Scotland
2006
Barricade Gets Laid - Saatchi and Saatchi in London, England
3 Site Specific Works - Conjunction in London, Birmingham, Stoke on Trent, England
A Rose With A Thorn In Its Side - commissioned by Rottenrow Workshop
and Dragon Bar in London, England
2005
The Rules Of Space - The (ICA) Institute of Contemporary Art London in London, England
2004
American Paranoia - Sites Miami at Lummus Park Miami, Florida,
USA
Exhibitions
2008
Fresh Air Smells Funny - Kunsthalle Dominikanerkirche - Osnabruck, Germany
2007
It`s the Thought That Counts - Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
Adaptation - Peacock Visual Arts in Aberdeen, Scotland
2006
Anti Climb Fence - Seven Seven gallery in London, England
2005
Our Work Makes Us Free - Backjumps at Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
We're On It - Jen Bekman Gallery in Manhatten, New York, USA
2004
American Grafitti - Central Saint Martins in London, England
Mondo Urbano - Fantasia in Montreal, Canada
The Interventionist - Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts
in North Adams, Massachusetts, USA
2003
Public Discourse - Publico gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Outside in - Pratt Institute Memorial Hall in Brooklyn, New York, USA
2002
Evolutionare Zellen - Neve Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, Berlin,Germany
The Free Biennial - Brooklyn, New York, USA
Lectures/Teaching Experience
2007
Taking A Block For A Walk Around The Block - Kunstraum Kreuzberg/
Bethanien – lecture, performance – Berlin, Germany
Kunstakademiet/Oslo – lecture – Oslo, Norway
2006
Invisible Monuments – Pratt institute – lecture - Brooklyn,
New York, USA
2005
Borderlines Film Festival – lecture, slide show – Hereford, England
2004
Not For Human Consumption – slide show, lecture - Canterbury, England
Ill Communication 2 – Urbis – slide show, lecture, performance -
Manchester, England
Branding the Street - Institute Contemporary Art London -
lecture - London, England
Street Logos - Cube – lecture - Bristol, England
2003
Doku und Gesprache, Eiszeit – lecture – Kino, Berlin, Germany
Hunter College, Graduate Documentary Program - visiting lecturer,
Manhattan, New York, USA
2001 - 2002
Project Reach Youth Film and video teacher – Brooklyn, New York, USA
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