Paintings in Art Books; Paintings of Art Books

I used to have a subscription to New American Paintings. For those not familiar, New American Paintings is a juried exhibition in book form, released bi-monthly, and published by Open Studios Press. Each issue is for a different US region and contains 3 works from about (or exactly) 40 artists. While mostly of paintings, other works of art such as drawings, prints, and installation images are also eligible. Each issue costs $20.

I say I "used to have a subscription" because after a few years I got bored with it. While each issue shows a very diverse set of works, I have come to realize that each issue shows the same diverse set of works. That is to say, you are going to get 10 abstract artists, 6 figurative artists, 4 installation artists, 5 illustrators, 2 people who paint landscapes, 1 textile artist, 1 Ed Ruscha wanna-be, and so on. The pattern was remarkably obvious and surprising considering each issue is juried be a different person. After a few years I let the subscription expire.

So one day, while needing to create shelf space, I decided to cut out all the artwork I really liked, put it in a binder, and give most of my New American Paintings collection away. The one issue I kept completely intact was 2004's Number 49, the Pacific Coast issue. The main reason I kept it was the work of Donald Bradford, a painter and professor at the University of California Extension, San Francisco.

Donald's acrylic and oil paintings in the book were delicately rendered images of... art books. Presented opened with foreshortened perspective, these paintings were some of the first I have seen to incorporate art publishing and its connection to artists and art history. The paintings are both clever, personal, and celebratory.

Donald has also done painting series of art book stacks, art books and cards, floral designs, and other ephemera from his studio bulletin board. I think it represents an artist's connection to not only the images that inspire them, but the actual, tangible vessels of these images... books, cards, and printed matter.

What I really liked was the statement to go with Donald Bradford's paintings:
"I recently drove from the Bay Area to Los Angeles to see a couple of major museum shows that featured two of my favorite artists. I found the work incredibly moving. But what excited me just as much was the thought of buying the two hard-bound catalogues and taking them back home where I could flip back and forth between the images and their detail shots and read about the artists' thoughts and processes. I love looking at books."

Donald Bradford's artwork can be found on his website: donaldbradfordart.com