Brad Phillips (born 1974 in Toronto, Canada) is a contemporary Canadian artist and writer. He is best known for his work around subjects like mental illness, suicide, fakery, addiction and pop culture. His first book of short stories, ''Essays and Fictions'', was published in 2019. His first novel,'' You Don't Have to Die'' will be published by Tyrant Books in 2021.

Life and education

Phillips grew up in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

suburbs of Pickering and

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

. He resided in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

between 2002 and 2013 and currently lives in Miami Beach, Florida. He is married to the artist and poet Cristine Brache.

Artwork

Aesthetically, Phillips is noted for his photorealist style and often references his own photographs to compose his paintings. He is known for his dark and often sinister imagery as well as text-based works, many of which include literary references. He often employs satire, autobiography, and black humor in his paintings. Phillips tends not to contextualize his work or speak about his intentions. Phillips has had notable solo exhibitions at James Fuentes LLC (New York), Division Gallery (Toronto), Fierman Gallery (New York), Wallspace Gallery (New York), Monte Clark Gallery (Vancouver and Toronto), Residence Gallery (London, UK), Groeflin Maag Galerie (Zurich), Galerie ZK (Berlin), and at the Liste 07 Young Art Fair (Basel). His 2013 exhibition at Louis B. James Gallery was listed as one of the top 100 Fall shows by

Modern Painters (magazine) ''Modern Painters'' is a monthly art magazine. It was launched as a quarterly in the United Kingdom in 1987, and is now published in New York City by Louise Blouin Media. History The magazine was launched in England in 1987 by the art critic ...

. His 2019 exhibition at Harper's Books was listed as one 18 shows not to miss in New York on Artnet, and was critic's picks in Artforum. His work has also been included in group exhibitions at the

Contemporary Art Gallery A contemporary art gallery is normally a commercial art gallery operated by an art dealer which specializes in displaying for sale contemporary art, usually new works of art by living artists. This approach has been called the "Castelli Method" ...

, the

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) is a not-for-profit arts organization and former museum in New York City devoted to comic books, comic strips and other forms of cartoon art. MoCCA sponsored events ranging from book openings to educat ...

, The

Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada (MOCA), formerly known as the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), is a museum and art gallery in Toronto, Ontario. It is an independent, registered charitable organization. ...

, and in

Guy Maddin Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, and film editor of both features and short films, as well as an installation artist, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since completing his first film i ...

's "The Keyhole Project" at the Beursschouwburg in Belgium and has been shown at international art fairs, including the

Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...

in New York, the NADA Fair in Miami, the Toronto International Art Fair and others. Phillips, representing Western Canada, was a finalist in the

RBC Canadian Painting Competition __NOTOC__ The RBC Canadian Painting Competition was an open competition for emerging Canadian artists that was established in 1999. The RBC Canadian Painting Competition is supported by the Canadian Art Foundation, the publisher of Canadian Art ( ...

in 2004. Phillips' artwork has been featured in

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

, Mousse Magazine, Blackbook,

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

, Carte Blanche Volume II,

The Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, non-profit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an 8-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a national s ...

. In 2017, Phillips began a conceptual t-shirt project that has become a minor online phenomenon.

Collections

Phillips' works are included in the collections of the

Glenbow Museum The Glenbow Museum is an art and history regional museum in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The museum focuses on Western Canadian history and culture, including Indigenous perspectives. The Glenbow was established as a private non-profi ...

, the

Capital Group Companies Capital Group is an American financial services company. It ranks among the world's oldest and largest investment management organizations, with over $2.6 trillion in assets under management. Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1931, it is ...

, the Royal Bank of Canada,

Hauser & Wirth Hauser & Wirth is a Swiss contemporary and modern art gallery. History Hauser & Wirth was founded in 1992 in Zurich by Iwan Wirth, Manuela Wirth, and Ursula Hauser, who were joined in 2000 by co-president Marc Payot. In 2020, Ewan Venters was ap ...

Collection, and the Toronto philanthropist W. Bruce C Bailey. In 2017, Phillips was commissioned to create a large scale painting for the

Willis Tower The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) is a 108- story, skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM ...

in Chicago (formerly the Sears Tower).

Writing

Phillips' first book of short stories, Essays and Fictions, was published by Tyrant Books in January 2019. There was an extensive feature on Phillips in Purple Magazine's 2020 S/S Edition, The Brain Issue Articles written by Phillips have been published in

, The Enemy, The Art Book Review,

Muumuu House Muumuu House is an independent, small press publishing company based in Manhattan, New York that was founded by writer Tao Lin in 2008. Muumuu House publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in print and online. Muumuu House has published prin ...

, and Hunter and Cook. Artists he has interviewed for journals include Jeff Wall,

Sean Landers Sean Landers (born 1962) is an American artist. He is best known for using his personal experience as public subject matterHa, Paul, Cynthia Daignault and Michelle Reyes Landers, eds. Sean Landers: 1990–1995, Improbable History. Zürich: JRP, ...

, Daniel Gordon,

Laura Owens Laura Owens (born 1970) is an American painter, gallery owner and educator. She emerged in the late 1990s from the Los Angeles art scene. She is known for large-scale paintings that combine a variety of art historical references and painterly te ...

and Kirsten Stoltmann. Phillips is also a regular contributor to

, ArtSlant, The Art Book Review, Millions Magazine, Adult Magazine, and The Editorial Magazine, where he is a contributing editor. He is a regular contributor to Autre Magazine and Purple Fashion Magazine.

Books

*"Marital Realism" Innen Books, (2020) *"Essays & Fictions" Tyrant Books, (2019) *"Educational Material" Innen Books, (2019) *"Life before Death" PaperworkNYC, (2017) *"Domestic Photography", Innen Books, Geneva (2016) *"Family Photos", Paperwork NYC, (2016) *"Kiss Me I'm Dying", Stanley/Barker, London (2016) *"Personal Work", 8 Ball Zines, New York, (2015) *"Mother Nature Mother Creature," (2014), Perish Publishing, Toronto *"Regular Creep," (2014), Swimmer's Group, Toronto *"The Devil May Care," (2014) Aaron Mcelroy, (page 5) S_U_N_ Books and Editions *"My Apologies Accepted," (2014) Bunny Rogers cover Image, Civil Coping Mechanisms, USA *''The Life and Times of William Callahan'' (2012) cover image, 0–100, Italy *''Brad Phillips: Hope Against Reason,'' (2009), TV Books, New York *''Brad Phillips: Suicide Note Writers Block,'' (2007), Cederteg/Libraryman, Stockholm, Sweden

References

External links

Brad Phillips websiteBrad Phillips at Division Gallery, Toronto / MontrealHarpers Books, East Hampton, New YorkBrad Phillips writing on ARTslantBrad Phillips on Matisse Overload on Blouin ArtinfoBrad Phillips: Money Cubicle's The Beast on The Enemy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Brad 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 21st-century Canadian painters 1974 births Living people Artists from Toronto Writers from Toronto 21st-century Canadian essayists Canadian male essayists 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian male artists