from display in the SJMA Lobby, 2011.

Throughout his career, Robert Brady has created a wide variety of both figurative and abstract sculptures, including masks, totemic figures, traditional clay vessels, and carved wooden insect-angels. He draws inspiration for these sculptures from a wide variety of sources including architecture, Native American crafts, oceanic art, and Mexican Day of the Dead figures. Raised in Nevada, Brady infuses his works with both the austerity and natural earth tones of the desert. His unique style combines the qualities of tribal art with those of figural abstraction, producing works that communicate with simple, yet powerful emotions.

Intrigued by the medium’s ability to contain expressive gestures, Brady began his career by working with clay. This exploration continued at the University of California, Davis, where he came in contact with the teachings and ideas of Robert Arneson, William Wiley, Manuel Neri, and Roy De Forest. In the mid-1980s, the artist began experimenting with wood, creating delicate, large-scale sculptures that defied the limits of clay. Due to his relative inexperience with wood work, Brady approached the new medium with a fresh, clear, and exploratory perspective. Perhaps a legacy of his work with ceramics, Brady shows great attention for the surface detail of his wood figures. More recently, he has returned to using clay, or a combination of clay and wood, as seen with Passage (2007). The grouping of these materials appeals to Brady because of their warm and receptive qualities.

• Sculpture Dimensions: 84 x 47 x 23 in. (213.36 x 119.38 x 58.42 cm)

This object is a member of the following portfolios: