Bradley Theodore
Bradley Theodore, one of the most recognized emergent artists and personalities. Well-known for his famous ‘Anne and Karl’ wall painting, Theodore has shaken the contemporary art world with his striking use of color, his passion for fashion and his personality.


ARTEMEST:
BT: The energy that I absorb from different places is very important to my art. Turks and Caicos also plays an important role: the culture, the history, the unique colors of the flowers, of the water, these definitely inspire my artworks.
I am actually thinking about creating an artist retreat in Turks and Caicos. There are different artists that are not able to experience what I experience, so I think it would be great to hang out together in such an inspiring place and then go back to work with a lot of inspiration.
ARTEMEST:
BT: I love walking around Venice actually. It’s a beautiful and incredibly inspiring city: the details of the buildings, the sculptures, everything that surrounds you. Going to Italy is definitely very inspiring for an artist.

ARTEMEST: Dias De Los Muertos is a recurring theme and an important source of inspiration for your artworks. What inspires you the most about this theme?
BT: I think it’s about seeing things differently, in my culture we have a different relationship with death, we don’t really see death as something bad but just as your spirit going to another world. The first time I painted a skull I just wanted to paint an emotion.
ARTEMEST: How do you feel while painting? What is the strongest feeling that drives you while creating your pieces?
BT: When I’m painting a go in a bubble. At the beginning, you feel like ‘wow this is a great painting. This kind of look amazing’ and in the middle you think ‘OMG, this is not looking like I thought. I don’t feel like I’m going to get finished’ and then I personally try to encourage myself with positive energy and focus on saying ‘this is going to be my most beautiful painting’ and then I get to end ad I say ‘wow this is amazing’
ARTEMEST: In your opinion which of your artworks best represents your philosophy and style?
BT: I would say my two very best artworks are: ‘The Last Supper’ and the piece with ‘Anna and Karl’.

ARTEMEST: Street Art has been an important part of your artistic journey. If you could choose to paint a wall in an Italian street where would it be?
BT: Anywhere in Milan would be great. I actually already did one in Milan for Moleskine during the latest Milan Design Week.
ARTEMEST:
BT: I would say my classic favorite artist is Michelangelo and I would love my pieces to be shown in Florence.
ARTEMEST: Let’s talk about your latest solo exhibition at London’s Maddox Gallery. ‘The Second Coming’ includes some sculptures, are sculptures something you might want to focus on in the near future?
BT: Yes. I have started sculpture about one year ago and I wanted to get people a little pick into some ideas I am working on.
ARTEMEST:The Second Coming also includes your personal interpretation of Leonardo’s The Last Supper. How did it feel to reinterpret one of the world’s most famous paintings?
BT: For me as an artist it has been a challenge to redo a painting of a master. And to be able to do this and to have the possibility of showing it in London has been amazing. That painting helped me develop many new techniques that I am using today in many other paintings.
ARTEMEST:The Second Coming includes some VR elements and you are working as a virtual reality artist in residence for Google. What do you think about Digital media?
I think it’s quite amazing, I mean, it opens your mind to what the future could hold and being one of the first actual art shows that includes virtual reality gives a normal viewer the chance to enter into a third dimension and see things from a different perspective.
