PAIGE BRADLEY - BIOGRAPHYPaige Bradley’s (b. 1974) powerful sculptures of dynamically posed figures showcasemore than just physical strength and passion — they testify to the inner strength andfortitude woven into the fabric of a person’s soul. Her own personal experiences are thestarting point for Paige’s work, and she then uses her skill, intuition, and sensitivity tobuild these stories out into universally understood creations. The unseen and oftenunspoken dichotomies one encounters in life — joy and sorrow, dissonance andharmony, weakness and strength, ugliness and beauty — become powerfully alive inPaige’s sculpture, as she is an artist who has the rare ability to turn abstract feeling intothree-dimensional form.Working in the figurative genre, Paige’s sculptures are anything but relics, antiques, orpastiches of figuration past. Rather, her works combine iconic media and uncommonskill with modern thought, philosophy, and psychology, speaking in the currency of ourcontemporary culture. Paige is also known for eschewing stylistic rules and parametersof any kind, which has kept stagnation far from her studio. In looking at the variety ofthought-provoking work she has produced over her 25-year career, one can see howthis mindset continues to serve her creative diversity: some of her figures sit strong andgrounded in outdoor spaces; others float delicately in suspended compositions; othersare sturdily wrapped in silk while stretching toward freedom. Although she primarily castsin bronze, Paige’s artwork also encompasses painting and charcoals, woodcuts, iron-bonded resin, aluminum, mixed media, or any other material she feels helpscommunicate her message.As a successful female sculptor in the 21 st century — a time that is seeing women joiningtogether, speaking out, and standing up in unprecedented numbers — Paige remains anartist of singular self-assurance and conviction, choosing to focus on feminine strength,empowerment, and the ability to overcome. “I did not struggle in the same way that myancestors did, but I’m still subject to many inequalities and unnecessary hardships,” saysPaige in the video she posted on International Women’s Day. “And I’m stronger becauseI learned to fight, overcome, and triumph. My artwork is about this: the hiding andemerging. The trusting, connecting, and the releasing. Allowing vulnerability. Thebirthing and the nurturing. Learning to love openly and to crack myself open to find thebrilliance within. I hope my journey can inspire others and at the least show the worldthat a woman who is a wife, a daughter, and a mom can still be an artist who can shakepreconceived paradigms. Once we find our unique voice in life, it is not complete until wepay it forward.” PAIGE BRADLEY – ARTIST STATEMENTInspiration comes from my connection to the world, my relationships with others, and myrelationship with myself. I don’t need to travel the planet or hire dancers to find a muse.My individual journey is inspiration enough. Since I was nine years old I knew I would bean artist.I was drawing since I can remember and began casting my work into bronzewhen I was seventeen. Three decades later, I am still doing it – and I intend to neverstop. As much as I try to avoid labeling myself, I am a figurative artist in everything I do.The figure to me is the perfect vehicle to communicate the human condition. Mydefinition of success is to be a visionary through truthful and courageous artwork, workthat communicates what it feels like to be alive in the world today. I keep moving mywork forward by questioning, observing, looking for truth and searching for clarity. Mygoal is to have the courage to create what feels real, not necessarily beautiful, in order tocreate lasting, fine art.“Art is not entertainment.Art is not luxury goods.Art is culture.It is you and I.”