Brad Aldridge
Artist Statement
Walking down a forgotten country lane, littered with stones and broken limbs, carpeted with the new growth of spring, I am exhilarated by warm days and the end of a long winter. I’m here under the pretense of work. I am looking for subjects to paint.
I’ve made landscape pictures most of my life, and have always been drawn to small, private, untamed places like this. In these sorts of places I felt both trepidation and elation. My trepidation came because of the inherent danger of mortality that nature teaches all too well; the remains of some animal or the ruins of an old building. I was also keenly aware of the vulnerability of being alone. My elation came from observing the exquisite beauty and subtle intricacy of nature; the hope of a new season, and the liberating joy of being alone.
Years later, as I emerged from my university art education, I was well practiced in the skill of looking for “deeper” meanings. I searched for metaphors in the landscape in an attempt to explain the powerful hold these sorts of places had over me. Overgrown stream, winding road or river, divergent paths, the hovering cloud, a solitary tree, and a glowing horizon all have double meanings for me. I’ve used these symbols to tell the viewer how I feel about the world, and perhaps in true didactic fashion, how I thought they should view the world.
However, I recently returned from one of my walks down a small pasture stream near my home, pleased and satisfied with my musings on these weighty intellectual matters. As I drove home, I saw a young boy with a bucket; riding his bike towards the stream I’d just left, presumably to catch crawdads. I was surprised by the realization that perhaps thisisthe deeper meaning of my work. I’m simply looking for an excuse to play in puddles and walk in the woods.
And as I walk down this country lane on one of the first sunny days of spring, metaphors swirl in the back of my mind. I suppose, however, if I had to define a central message that I derived from the world at a very early age, and would wish to pass on to the viewers of my paintings, that message would not be metaphorical, but literal. The message is this: In spite of a long hard winter, spring comes again.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Brigham Young University
Utah Professional Printer Training Certification, Tamarind Institute of Lithography, Albuquerque, New Mexico (University of New Mexico)
Master of Fine Arts, University of Arkansas
EXHIBITIONS
2009
Art Renewal Center International Annual Salon
Solo Exhibition, The Continual Hope of Morning, Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Juried Group Exhibition, Twentieth Annual Dixie Invitational, Eccles Fine Art Center, St. George, UT
Traveling Invitational Group Exhibition, Frames of Reference, Central Utah Art Center, Brigham Young University, Manti, Provo, UT
Traveling Juried Group Exhibition, Spring City Arts Plein Air Festival, 6 city traveling exhibit, UT
2008
Solo Exhibition, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Invitational Group Exhibition, Terra Nova Gallery, Provo, UT
Solo Exhibition, Susan Calloway Fine Art, Washington D.C.
Invitational Group Exhibition, 10th Year Anniversary, Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC
2007
Miniature Show, Howard Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA
Solo Exhibition, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Solo Exhibition, Bennett Galleries, Knoxville, TN
Invitational Group Exhibition, Reunion, Dixie State College Sears Art Gallery, St. George, UT
Juried Group Exhibition, Sanpete Juried Show, Central Utah Art Center, Ephraim, UT
Juried Exhibition, 83rd Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
Invitational Group Exhibition, Celebrating 35 Years, Howard Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA
Solo Exhibition, A Far-Off Country, Arcadia Gallery, New York City, NY
Juried Group Exhibition, Twentieth Annual Dixie Invitational, Eccles Fine Art Center, St. George, UT
Solo Exhibition, Near and Distant Rivers, Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Invitational Group Exhibition, 30th Anniversary Celebration, Leslie Levy Fine Arts, Scottsdale, AZ
Solo Exhibition, Half Light; Iconic Landscapes, Lydon Fine Art, Chicago, IL
2006
Invitational Group Exhibition, The Gift, Small Works Exhibition, Bennett Galleries, Knoxville, TN
“10 for 10” Tenth Anniversary Exhibition, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Small Works Group Exhibition, Arcadia Gallery, New York City, NY
16th Annual Invitational Miniature Show, Howard Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA
Solo Exhibition, The Intricacy of Beauty, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Invitational Group Exhibition, Landscape, Bennett Galleries, Knoxville, TN
Juried Exhibition, Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
Invitational Group Show, Love of the Land, Howard Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA
Seventh International Juried Exhibition, Museum of Church History and Art, Salt Lake City, UT
2005
Invitational Group Show, Central Utah Art Center, Ephraim, UT
Introductions 2, Group Exhibition, Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Solo Exhibition, Promise of a New Season, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
America the Beautiful, Group Exhibition, Terra Nova Gallery, Provo, UT
Juried Exhibition, Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
Chicago Contemporary and Classic art fair, Chicago, IL
Emerging Artists Fair, Scottsdale, AZ
Art Miami, Group Exhibition, Miami, FL
2004
Department of Art Alumni Invitational, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
Opening Group Exhibition, Mendenhall Sobieski Gallery, Pasadena, CA
Affordable Art Fair, Group Exhibition, New York City, NY
US Artists, Group Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA
Invitational Group Exhibition, Landscape, Bennett Galleries, Knoxville, TN
Invitational Group Exhibition, The Color of Mood, Meyer Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Solo Exhibition, A Fairer Creation, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Solo Exhibition, A Fairer Creation, St. George Art Museum, St. George, UT
Gallery Artists’ Salon, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Invitational Group Exhibition, Arcadia Fine Arts, New York, NY
Art Miami, Group Exhibition, Miami, FL
2003
Holiday Exhibition, Arcadia Fine Arts, New York, NY
US Artists, Group Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA
Two Person Exhibition, Coda Gallery, New York, NY
Sixth International Juried Exhibition, Museum of Church History and Art, Salt Lake City, UT
Three Person Exhibition, Kneeland Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
Juried Exhibition, Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
Art Chicago, Group Exhibition, Chicago, IL
Solo Exhibition, Returning Home at Evening, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT & Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe NM
2002
Invitational Group Exhibition, Small Works, Leslie Levy Fine Arts, Scottsdale, AZ
Two Person Exhibition, Coda Gallery, New York, NY
Invitational Group Exhibition, The Road Show, Leslie Levy Fine Arts, Scottsdale, AZ
Invitational Group Exhibition, The Third Wave, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
Solo Exhibition, Awake … and Remember, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Juried Exhibition, Utah Art-Utah Artists, Springville Museum of Art, Springfield, UT, venue selected by the Winter Cultural Olympiad
Group Exhibition, Miniatures 2002, The Albuquerque Museum
2001
Invitational Group Exhibition, Small Works, Leslie Levy Fine Arts, Scottsdale, AZ
Solo Exhibition, The Simple Order of Things, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Invitational, A Show with Heart, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Juried Exhibition, Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
A Group Exhibition of Small Works, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Three Person Show, Kneeland Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
2000
Solo Exhibition, Timeless Ground, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
A Group Exhibition of Small Works, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Invitational, A Show with Heart, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Juried Exhibition, Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
Two Person Show, Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
1999
Solo Exhibition, Emanations of Nature, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Invitational, A Show with Heart, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
A Group Exhibition of Small Works, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Juried Exhibition, Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
1998
Solo Exhibition, Pathways: Impressions from Europe, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Two Person Show, Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
Small Format show, Martin Harris Gallery, Jackson, WY
A Group Exhibition of Small Works, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Miniature Show, Kneeland Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
7th Annual Plein Air, Kneeland Gallery, Sun Valley, Idaho
1997
Featured Artist, Exhibitions Since ‘96, Lydon Fine Art, Chicago, IL
Solo Exhibition, Summer’s Light, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
6th Annual Plein Air Show, Kneeland Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
1996
Exhibition, Iconographic Landscapes, Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
State of the Arts, Utah Centennial Invitational, Utah, Wash. DC
72nd Annual Spring Salon, Award of Merit, Springville, Utah
1995
71st Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
3rd International Juried Exhibition, Museum of Church History and Art, Salt Lake City, UT
70th Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
Solo Exhibition, Iconographic Landscape, Designer’s Gallery, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Featured Artist, Taylor’s Contemporanea Fine Arts, Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
1993
Charlotte International Exhibition, Charlotte, North Carolina
69th Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
Intimate Views, Salt Lake Art Center, Salt Lake City, UT
1992
Contemporary Realism V, Leslie Levy Fine Arts, Scottsdale, AZ
1991
15th Arkansas Exhibit, Hot Springs, Arkansas
1990
Contemporary Landscape, Brad Aldridge & Teresa Falley, Designer’s Gallery, Fayetteville, Arkansas
1989
65th Annual April Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
1988
Mountain West Biennial Paper Works Regional Competition, Logan, UT
Western States Print Competition, Ogden, UT
9th Annual Paper in Particular National, Columbia, MO
AWARDS
2009
Third Place, Art Renewal Center International Annual Salon
Award of Merit, Art Renewal Center International Annual Salon
2007
First Place Award, Sanpete Juried Show, Central Utah Art Center, Ephraim, UT
2006
Award of Merit,Springville Museum of Art, UT
2003
Award of Merit, Church Museum of History and Art, Salt Lake City, UT
2000
Award of Merit,Springville Museum of Art, UT
1996
Award of Merit, 72nd Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, UT
1994
Best of Show 1st Place, 70th Annual Spring Salon, Springville, UT
1989
Juror’s Choice Award, 65th Annual April Salon, Springville Museum of Art, UT
1988
Juror’s Choice Award, Harris Fine Arts Center Annual Juried Exhibition, Provo, Utah. Theodore Wolff, Juror (Art Critic, Christian Science Monitor)
J. Roman Andrus Annual Printmaking Will Ward Cash Award