Paige Bradley

{"Id":7779,"Name":"Paige Bradley","Biography":"\u003Cp\u003EPaige Bradley\u0026rsquo;s (b. 1974) powerful sculptures of dynamically posed figures showcase more than just physical strength and passion \u0026mdash;they testify to the inner strength and fortitude woven into the fabric of a person\u0026rsquo;s soul. Her own personal experiences are the starting point for Paige\u0026rsquo;s work, and she then uses her skill, intuition, and sensitivity to build these stories out into universally understood creations. The unseen and often unspoken dichotomies one encounters in life \u0026mdash;joy and sorrow, dissonance and harmony, weakness and strength, ugliness and beauty \u0026mdash;become powerfully alive in Paige\u0026rsquo;s sculpture, as she is an artist who has the rare ability to turn abstract feeling into three-dimensional form.\u003Cbr /\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr /\u003EWorking in the figurative genre, Paige\u0026rsquo;s sculptures are anything but relics, antiques, or pastiches of figuration past. Rather, her works combine iconic media and uncommon skill with modern thought, philosophy, and psychology, speaking in the currency of our contemporary culture. Paige is also known for eschewing stylistic rules and parameters of any kind, which has kept stagnation far from her studio. In looking at the variety of thought-provoking work she has produced over her 25-year career, one can see how this mindset continues to serve her creative diversity: some of her figures sit strong and grounded in outdoor spaces; others float delicately in suspended compositions; others are sturdily wrapped in silk while stretching toward freedom. Although she primarily casts in bronze, Paige\u0026rsquo;s artwork also encompasses painting and charcoals, woodcuts, iron-bonded resin, aluminum, mixed media, or any other material she feels helps communicate her message. \u003Cbr /\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr /\u003EAs a successful female sculptor in the 21stcentury \u0026mdash;a time that is seeing women joining together, speaking out, and standing up in unprecedented numbers \u0026mdash;Paige remains an artist of singular self-assurance and conviction, choosing to focus on feminine strength, empowerment, and the ability to overcome. \u0026ldquo;I did not struggle in the same way that my ancestors did, but I\u0026rsquo;m still subject to many inequalities and unnecessary hardships,\u0026rdquo; says Paige in the video she posted on International Women\u0026rsquo;s Day. \u0026ldquo;And I\u0026rsquo;m stronger because I learned to fight, overcome, and triumph. My artwork is about this: the hiding and emerging. The trusting, connecting, and the releasing. Allowing vulnerability. The birthing and the nurturing. Learning to love openly and to crack myself open to find the brilliance within. I hope my journey can inspire others and at the least show the world that a woman who is a wife, a daughter, and a mom can still be an artist who can shake preconceived paradigms. Once we find our unique voice in life, it is not complete until we pay it forward.\u0026rdquo;\u003Cbr /\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr /\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","Awards":"\u003Cp\u003EHonorable Mention, 110th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition, California Art Club (2023)\u003Cbr /\u003ESecond Place, Summer Small Works Exhibition, National Association of Women Artists (2023)\u003Cbr /\u003EMichael Greesel Memorial Award, Hudson Valley Art Association (2022)\u003Cbr /\u003EPietro and Alfrieda Montana Memorial Prize, National Sculpture Society (2019)\u003Cbr /\u003EElected Fellow - National Sculpture Society, 2018\u003Cbr /\u003EMarilyn Newmark Memorial, American Artist\u0027s Professional League, 2014\u003Cbr /\u003EBest Sculpture, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, 2013\u003Cbr /\u003EBest of Show, American Women Artists, 2011\u003Cbr /\u003ESculpture Honor Award, Academic Artists Association, 2010\u003Cbr /\u003EGold Medal of Honor, The Allied Artists of America, 2009\u003Cbr /\u003EThird Place, 4th Annual A.R.C. Salon, Online Exhibition, 2006\u003Cbr /\u003EThe Lindsey Morris Memorial Award, Allied Artists of America, 2005\u003Cbr /\u003EArt Students League Award, Allied Artists of America, 2004\u003Cbr /\u003ELeonard Meiselman Memorial Award, Pen \u002B Brush, 2004\u003Cbr /\u003EThird Place Award, Women Artists of the West, 2004\u003Cbr /\u003ECatherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, Nominated Professional Young Sculptor Award\u003Cbr /\u003EViselaya Sculpture Competition, 2003\u003Cbr /\u003ENational Sculpture Society, Nominated Professional Member, Young Sculptor Award, 2001\u003Cbr /\u003ERamborger Prize, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1996\u003Cbr /\u003ENational Sculpture Society, Young Sculptors Competition, 1996\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","HasAlbums":false,"HasPortraits":false,"HasRelationships":false,"HasArticles":false,"HasDepictedPlaces":false,"HasLetters":false,"HasLibraryItems":false,"HasProducts":false,"HasSignatures":false,"HasVideos":false,"HasMapLocations":false,"TotalArtworks":25}