Spirit Riders & Abracadabra!
On view through April 24, 2022
Behringer-Crawford Museum
Covington, Kentucky
www.bcmuseum.org
The tandem exhibitions, “Spirit Riders,” by Naomi Bradford and “Abracadabra!,” by Gregg Harper features paintings, drawings, assemblage and collage from the late Bradford and her partner.
Upon moving to Cincinnati in 2005, Bradford met a carriage horse named Henry on the city streets at Fountain Square; the motivation for a series of paintings. “I layer color upon color, using the image of the horse as it is my belief that we are part horse/part human… a universal theme of liveliness, strength, beauty, and loyalty.” “Spirit Riders” explores the physical and emotional aspects of Bradford’s fight with breast cancer and her connection between life and spirit in a series of images.
“Abracadabra!” is an array of images that are signposts to what Harper calls his “exploration of thought” initiated by local educators during his youth. Serving as Behringer-Crawford Museum’s executive director from 1979-1992, Harper’s accomplishments as a curator, art historian, archaeologist, inveterate traveler and more inspired new combinations of forms in his works, exploring his questions of history and spirit.
[Images courtesy Behringer-Crawford Museum]
