Episode 4 of the series Art21 showcases five artists who, through uniquely different styles of work, address and respond to contradiction, conflict and ambiguity, and examine the relationship between mystery and meaning in art. Mark Bradford uses signage and advertisements scavenged from the street to create wall-sized collages which respond to the impromptu networks that emerge within a city, such as underground economies, immigrant communities, or the use of abandoned public space. In his films, Bradford captures and document... Read more

Episode 4 of the series Art21 showcases five artists who, through uniquely different styles of work, address and respond to contradiction, conflict and ambiguity, and examine the relationship between mystery and meaning in art.

Mark Bradford uses signage and advertisements scavenged from the street to create wall-sized collages which respond to the impromptu networks that emerge within a city, such as underground economies, immigrant communities, or the use of abandoned public space. In his films, Bradford captures and documents the cultural, political and racial conditions of an urban environment. Catherine Sullivan’s anxiety inducing films and live performances reveal the degree to which everyday gestures and emotional states are scripted and performed, questioning the border between innate and learned behavior. Influenced by the work of artists such as Mark Rothko and his own love of jazz and bebop, Robert Ryman is well-known for his work with white paint on square forms, which reveals the nuances of the surface. His paintings are characterized by their subtlety, as they explore the distinction between art as an object or surface, sculpture or painting, and emphasize the role that perception and context play in creating an aesthetic experience. Collaborators Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla draw inspiration from their belief that art can function as a catalyst for social change, and their works – which include sculpture, video documentation and public installations – often solicit active participation and critical responses from their viewers. They approach visual art as a set of experiments that test whether concepts such as authorship, nationality, borders, and democracy adequately describe today’s increasingly global society.