Mark Bradford
I Thought You Knew, 2001
Collage, acrylic paint, and felt tip on canvas
72.25 x 84.25 inches
Collection of Gordon Locksley and George T. Shea

Mark Bradford uses materials scavenged from his urban environment to make map-like, multi-layered paper collages. This all-over composition consists of a thick cluster of paper and foil layered over remnants of posters, signs, and advertisements. The multitude of overlapping rectangles and squares creates an essentially geometric, grid-like composition with a paradoxically improvisational quality. This dense patchwork of shapes, colors, and materials evokes the vitality of a crowded city and the many dynamic networks that exist within an urban setting.