Artist Profile

Ed Brodkin received a BFA from The Cooper Union, New York, NY. He has exhibited in Spain, Germany, Korea, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Newark and many other sites in the U.S. including solo exhibitions in New York, NY. He has been accepted into many juried competitions whose jurors include Dan Cameron, Donald Kuspit, Andre Emmerich, Holly Solomon, Charlotta Kotik, Christa Clarke and Maurice Tuchman.

Brodkin tells of his pleasure and wonderment in the expressive power of the non-traditional (and some traditional) materials he employs in his work. His palette has included varieties of paints, solvents, varnishes, collage, frottage and occasional eccentrically shaped or perforated grounds. He also occasionally creates illusions, trompe l'oeil 3-dimensional effects, which upon closer viewing are actually 2-dimensional, a metaphor for the many illusions we live with.

As a work develops, various philosophical concerns begin to reveal themselves. Forms and symbols from the so-called primitive to the binary numbers of cybernetics are frequently employed, referring to our species evolved efforts to preserve and forward information and discoveries, as well as telling and perpetuating untruths and foolish myths.

The critic and historian, Ed McCormack, recently wrote, "The visual pleasures are many for Ed Brodkin is an artist who absolutely revels in his materials. He uses mixed media paintings that are at once thoughtful and tactile, visually powerful and rich in meaning. He is a visionary with a perpetual twinkle in his eye."