Martin Bradley is an autodidact, born in 1931 in Richmond, Surrey, England. At the age of fourteen he shipped as ordinary seaman on the South America route. In the years at sea he started drawing and painting.
Five years later he returned to London. Martin Bradleyยดs principal interest was now painting and in 1954 this led up to a one-man-show in Gimpel Fils Gallery in London.
In 1958 he went to Paris where he met Rudolphe Augustinci, who ran Galerie Rive Gauche where among others Max Ernst, Tanguy and Magritte exhibited. Other artists launched at this gallery were Dubuffet, Asger Jorn and Corneille.
In 1960 Martin Bradley had a one-man-show at Galerie Rive Gauche and his career seemed to be granted.
Martin Bradley left Paris in 1962 to travel around the world for ten years. In Japan he met his wife Tatsuko and they settled down in Italy to start with. Nowadays they live and work in Japan.
Martin Bradley has found his own way of expression in his colourful, imaginative painting. The thoughts go to Mirรณ, COBRA and Paul Klee which he doesnโt deny, though he is mainly influenced and inspired by prehistoric rock carvings or paintings, as well as by Chinese and Japanese calligraphy.
Throughout the years the list of Martin Bradleyยดs exhibitions has become very comprehensive. He is represented at a lot of museums, among others at the MOMA in New York.
Martin Bradley som รคr autodidakt fรถddes 1931 i Richmond, Surrey i England. Vid fjorton รฅrs รฅlder gick han till sjรถss som sjรถman till Sydamerika. Under รฅren till sjรถss bรถrjade han teckna och mรฅla.
Dรฅ han fem รฅr senare รฅtervรคnde till London var hans frรคmsta intresse att mรฅla vilket ledde till en one-man-show utstรคllning pรฅ Gimpel Fils Gallery i London 1954.
1958 reste han till Paris dรคr han mรถtte Rudolphe Augustinci som drev Galerie Rive Gauche dรคr bl.a. Max Ernst, Tanguy och Magritte stรคllde ut. Andra konstnรคrer som lanserades dรคr var Dubuffet, Asger Jorn och Corneille. 1960 hade Martin Bradley en one-man-show utstรคllning pรฅ Galerie Rive Gauche och hans karriรคr verkade sรคkrad.
1962 lรคmnade han Paris fรถr att resa runt i vรคrlden under tio รฅr. I Japan mรถtte han sin fru Tatsuko och de slog sig till en bรถrjan ner i Italien. Fรถr nรคrvarande lever och arbetar de i Japan.
Martin Bradley har sitt alldeles egna uttryckssรคtt i sitt fantasirika och fรคrgglada mรฅleri. Hans konst fรถr till viss del tankarna till mรคstare som Mirรณ, COBRA och Paul Klee vars inflytande han inte fรถrnekar men han รคr frรคmst inspirerad av forntida hรคllristningar och grottmรฅlningar, liksom av japansk och kinesisk kalligrafi.
Listan รถver Martin Bradleys utstรคllningar har under รฅren blivit mycket omfattande. Han รคr dessutom representerad pรฅ mรฅnga museer, bl.a. pรฅ MOMA I New York.