Slater B. Bradley: Sundoor at World’s End

In occasion of the 57th Venice Biennale, Zuecca Projects is proud to present Sundoor at World’s End, an exhibition by the American artist Slater B. Bradley. The exhibition will be hosted at La Maddalena (Church of Mary Magdalene) in Venice, from May 11 to November 26, 2017, and is curated by Alessandro Possati and Don Gianmatteo Caputo.

Since 2015, Bradley has created a body of framed abstract paintings he calls “Solar Shields.” Using a gold marker, the artist covers each shield with tens of thousands of marks, line by line, thereby imbuing his energy into the shield. The paint of the marker forges with the photographic image that forms the ground of each work. The root images function as visual recordings sourced from journeys focusing on the metaphysics of spiritual ascension undertaken by the artist. Hidden completely by the artist’s hand or left partially uncovered revealing location fragments and compositional details, the shields transmute into an etheric gold energy field, evoking electromagnetic waves, spiritual waters and inner auric light.

The “Shield” series link material and spiritual dimensions. For Bradley: “The ‘Shields’ are sized in the Golden Ratio and playing with numerological codes and patterns. The installation at La Maddalena will specifically relate to planetary movement and alignments within the Zodiac. The shields are in harmony with the frequency of Natural Law and Source, and they become a conduit for dimensional energy exchange.”

For this new exhibition, the artist will realize an installation of seven shields created during the past two years. Six “Solar Shields” will be installed in the chambers and a black “Magnetic Shield” at the south altar of La Maddalena on specially designed easels. 

Bradley’s work deals with notions of cultural icons, transcendence and the de/reconstruction of symbols. For this project, he focuses his attention on spiritual icons and the figure of Mary Magdalene, “the Apostle to the Apostles,” as he embeds the iconography of the Saint and symbolism related to women, divine feminine energy, and the moon within this exhibition. 

The artist will present a new sculptural work directly inspired by the circular architecture, dome and oculus of La Maddalena: Crystal Labyrinth (La Maddalena), 2017, is comprised of 888 rose quartz crystals forming a 7-meter in diameter labyrinth whose center aligns directly beneath the oculus. Visitors will be invited to take a spiritual walk—circling to the center—illuminating their inner path and heart-based consciousness. The rose is a symbol of a new dawn and the resurrection of light and renewal of life. 

Bradley will be collaborating with the Academy Award-nominated composer Dustin O’Halloran to create a sound installation to sublimate the exhibition.

Sundoor at World’s End will include a literary component written by John Major Jenkins, an expert in the calendar systems used in Mayan Cosmology. The text will go deeper into the idea of the “Sundoor” and the cultural mythologies surrounding the transformation of consciousness.

Furthermore, Slater B. Bradley will donate a new work to the Venetian Heritage’s auction in June of 2017, and the proceeds will be allocated to restoration projects supported by Venetian Heritage.


Opening hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 10am–6pm
Information and media: 
zueccaprojects.com / info [​at​] zueccaprojectspace.com / T +39 041 2406840
Ute Weingarten: artpress-uteweingarten.de / weingarten.artpress [​at​] uteweingarten.de / T +49 175 2221561
Alexandra Saheb: saheb.artpress [​at​] uteweingarten.de / T +49 172 1513170

Slater B. Bradley was born in 1975 in San Francisco, California, and he has lived and worked in Berlin, Germany since 2014. Bradley’s work came to international attention through such shows as his solo exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2005) and his participation in the Whitney Biennial, New York (2004). His work has been the subject of numerous solo museum exhibitions including The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2005); UC Berkeley Contemporary Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, California (2005); Contemporary Art Museum, St Louis, Missouri (2007); De Hallen Haarlem, Haarlem, The Netherlands (2009); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2010); Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, Colorado (2011); and the Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York (2013). His early 2000’s work on Ian Curtis of the post punk band Joy Division is featured in the forthcoming exhibition True Faith at the Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester (June 30–September 3, 2017).