To Speak Through Flowers

Ivester Contemporary, Austin, TX

21 October - 25 November 2023

Ivester Contemporary is excited to announce Bradley Kerl’s second solo exhibition with the gallery titled, To Speak Through Flowers. “To speak through flowers” is a German idiom that means to communicate in a roundabout way through symbols, codes or figures of speech. Kerl first heard this saying during a conversation that was obstructed by a literal bouquet of flowers.
 
Kerl views the work in this exhibition as composites of his lived experiences, in addition to visions and memories from an indistinct, non-linear timeline. The majority of the imagery featured in To Speak Through Flowers originate from an artist residency Kerl attended in France, but he does not think of the paintings as distinctly “French”. The figures, and scenes may be people and places the artist knows and loves, but he does not think of the identities and specifics of these details to be particularly important in the context of his painting practice. Instead, Kerl uses the figures, scenes, colors, and suggestive gestures in his work simply as devices to “activate” his canvases. This exhibition is about the beauty of painting.