-
Artworks
Katherine Bradford
Fear of Shoes, 2018Acrylic on canvas80 x 68 in. (203 x 172.5 cm)Hall Collection© the artistMy painting Fear of Shoes was inspired by my first visit to Schloss Derneburg where I saw a suite of paintings by Baselitz that consisted simply of trouser legs and...My painting Fear of Shoes was inspired by my first visit to Schloss Derneburg where I saw a suite of paintings by Baselitz that consisted simply of trouser legs and black lace-up shoes pointing upwards into the air. What interested me the most was that the legs intruded into the canvas and were not connected to anything or anyone. In this way I saw that the artist had succeeded in balancing humanity with abstraction - the legs read as stripes and yet they clearly belonged to a person.Once back in my Brooklyn studio I immediately added these stripe-like legs to a big painting I'd already started of a lone woman in a bra. She had two eyes but otherwise was very simply painted. The light green color was already on my brush; I don't know where I found it but I liked it as a kind of neutral suit pants color. The painting as a whole balanced greens and pinks and also a woman's torso with surrounding trouser legs.
I had already done several paintings with Fear of… in the title (Fear of Waves, Fear of Dawn, Fear of Onions), so Fear of Shoes slipped easily into my imagination.
Why is this person surrounded by legs? I haven't wanted or felt obliged to answer this question. I completed the painting visually and continue to be intrigued by the questions it raises.
-Katherine Bradford, July 2023
Join our mailing list
* denotes required fields
We will process the personal data you have supplied to communicate with you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.