\nFILE UNDER: jet planes might be a going down in the ocean, but looks like, my<\/strong> ships . . are finally coming in.<\/p>\n
JOE BRADLEY IS BLOWING UP . . MEGA MEGA BIG TIME – TALK ABOUT . . MAGIC.
\nand make that MUGGLE MAGIC . . with a capital ‘M’.<\/p>\n
should I dedicate this to ELEANOR CAYRE, and all the other bogus socialite art collectors \/ ‘art consultants’ – out there, or what.
\nor is that, just too too sad ?
\nthe siren call of the underdog . .
\nDAN, I’m picking up – where you left off !!
\nmust be hearing voices inside of my head.<\/p>\n
first of all, what’s it got to do with me ? but, I got in that JOE game, early. then I wrote up a huge review of Joe’s debut painting show in NYC, at CANADA, titled ‘KURGAN WAVES’ – which ran JAN 27- MARCH 4, 2006. but you can read the follow-up post, which states the obvious: brilliant show, and sure enough KEN JOHNSON followed thru, a few weeks later . . with a strong review in the TIMES, on FEB 17th. but otherwise, the media & the collectors who follow like dumb sheep, were a hard call. so anyways, I managed to score a nice size drawing from JOE, for my inspired effort – if I don’t say so myself. so whereas usually, having just been fired by Walter at artnet, for “being too successful” . . I sometimes didn’t even have the $2 for the subway, let alone a few hundred for the art, at least this time, all was: magic. FAST FORWARD. see: HOW JOE BRADLEY’S PRICES surged 1,100% in five years . . BLOOMBERG NEWS, JAN 8, 2011.<\/a><\/p>\n see: LEONARDO’S CHARITY AUCTION at CHRISTIE’S raises $38M . . FORBES. MAY 13, 2013<\/a><\/p>\n see: JOE BRADLEY – ‘MUGGLES’ PAINTING SELLS for $682,500 (!!) at DiCAPRIO CHARITY AUCTION.<\/a><\/p>\n I can’t even do the math, on that raise . . % now.<\/p>\n I recently brought this to the attention of a young, aspiring art collector, who happens to be my son. as for ELEANOR CAYRE. wannabe collector, even worse art consultant !! . . ELEANOR typifies what used to bum the hell out of . . me, SIMON and DAN.<\/p>\n she shot me a couple of bucks to document her ‘STATION’ show in Miami, a decade back bye now. mistake #2. f-ck that. DAN . . would have started cursing her . . as a ‘user’ – up and down the block, and maybe caused her enough agitation, she would never come back. if not make her car crash, driver and all.<\/p>\n I just blew her off. zero of zero = zero. so what’s the diff. either one of us: me, Dan or Simon . . could have built any one of you a world class collection, and Simon did, believe it. and for what ? just to leave y’all on a good note. <\/p>\n here’s to . . JOE BRADLEY.![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Muggles-JOE-BRADLEY-LOTUS.jpg\" "\\"Muggles---JOE-BRADLEY-LOTUS\\"")
<\/a>
\nJOE BRADLEY, in a wonderful photo . . by yours truly.
\nlooking like Ernest Hemingway, or what ?
\nat the opening of his last show – at GAVIN BROWN’S enterprise.
\ntitled, ‘LOTUS BEATERS’, it ran MAY 17 – JUNE 29, 2013.
\nbehind him, the exterior wall of the gallery on Greenwich St had been plastered with black and white vintage photos – in a project by RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA.
\nPHOTO: NANCY SMITH.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nin that summer 2013 show: a row of paintings by JOE BRADLEY, titled, from left to right: MUGGLES #2, #3, #4, #5.
\nPHOTO: NANCY SMITH<\/p>\n
\nbesides, obviously . . the series of write-ups, ‘muggel’ to mainstream ‘translation’, and pix I posted for Joe – on that ‘LOTUS BEATERS’ show.
\nthe best way to access them, is to scroll down this site’s left hand index: JUNE 2013.<\/p>\n
\nI posted the very first mainstream photo of JOE, with his band CHEESEBURGER on artnet, when he was just a crazy kid in a crazy art band. back in the early 2000 era. seems so long ago.
\nthere were like 3 galleries, on the Lower East Side, the bulk of the cutting edge action was just gearing up on 27th St. in Chelsea. Joe was out on the scene every night, and a more wild, brilliant chile – you could not imagine. his girlfriend at the time, EUNICE KIM, was also a fascinating brilliant artist person too. you really couldn’t tell who was more full of creative fire or brain power.
\nthey used to go out west to farm marijuana, and come back with a big enough pile of dough to last them through the year, til the next harvest. then one year, Eunice went and never came back.
\nrumor was, she fell for a surfer and had had it with NYC.
\nif you don’t want to believe me about how brilliant she was, check out her only show, here in NYC any way, at CANADA.
\nwhere I heard home-made marijuana cookies were passed around in copious amounts at the opening.
\nsomehow ‘weed’ cookies, just doesn’t make it.
\nsee: EUNICE KIM, ‘MOON THE MAGIC LOSER’. CANADA, 2008.<\/a>
\nMagic<\/strong>, check – !!<\/p>\n
\ncoincidentally the same time DAN ASHER’S ‘BIRD OF PREY’ opened at Passerby.
\nwhich just goes to show you how ‘hot’ the scene – used to be.
\nsorry, the pix from that opening, or either of those 2 openings, are no longer available online. <\/p>\n
\nsee: JOE BRADLEY ‘KURGAN WAVES’, CANADA.<\/a><\/p>\n
\njust google JERRY SALTZ & his early take on Joe Bradley . . “I don’t get it.” <\/p>\n
\nI got a real nice piece, and it says, ‘Thanks Nancy’, too.<\/p>\n
\nbut who am I, when we are talking, mega watt . . LEONARDO DiCAPRIO \/ !!!<\/p>\n
\nhe’s in finance – hedge funds, and only 25 . . so go figure !!
\nkind of just as gifted as Simon, but with his head on his shoulders, not in his ‘pipe’.
\nand he said incredulously, “well I hardly think people are gonna know what goes on from art magazines.” !! !!
\nand, I’m like, dude: BLOOMBERG NEWS and FORBES – are NOT<\/strong> art magazines !! <\/p>\n
\nwell, telepathy direct from DAN in heaven . . and his LOVE for stories, and the reason why we are all so messed-up, is behind this.
\nthen, guess I gotta shut those grouchy voices down.
\ndon’t want to end up like PEACHES GELDOF, talking to the dead, and ending up: dead.
\nALEISTER CROWLEY, omg.<\/p>\n
\nand then she thought . . she owned me ?
\nmistake # 1.
\nshe picked me up in her chauffeur-driven Escalade, and took me to what was then ‘SUNDAY’ gallery, in Chelsea – HORTON, on L.E.S., now. to tell her which . . KELTIE FERRIS to buy ?!!
\nin other words: gimme some FREE ADVICE.
\nsince FERRIS is all<\/strong> garbage and there’s no way to tell, I declined, “can’t say” . . but – kept polite.
\nbut I def got the feeling I was being driven around both as a kind of . . insider ‘status’ accessory, and even worse . . as a free ‘art advisory’ for someone who was then going to turn around and cash in . . on my smarts, for herself & for her ‘consulting’ business.
\nwtf ?
\nfor a chauffeur-driven ride ?<\/p>\n
\nthen she just casually dropped that CANADA had reneged on her purchase of a painting from the
\nJOE BRADLEY, ‘KURGAN WAVE’ show, guess she was an artlovers fan, bless her heart – and they had offered her instead a piece from his new ‘Mr. SCHMAGOO’ show – and what did I think of that ?
\nknowing damn well that was a ‘million dollar’ question . . I just rolled my eyes heaven-ward. and kept a poker face.
\nwell, she said she was going to decline.
\nwhich she did, and every time you google her,it comes up as her biggest ‘regret’.<\/p>\n
\nnow SIMON, Simon . . would<\/strong> have shown off, and would not only have told her to buy it, (well, maybe not exactly, he wasn’t quite that sharp at that point) but he would have given her the run-down on everything else that was hot, and that kind of info is PRICELESS, just for the ATTENTION, and maybe a joint. or, in this case maybe a dinner.<\/p>\n
\nplus like they say, I don’t suffer fools too well. must be my ‘autistic’ side.
\nI’m sure as hell not going to let somebody else peddle their ‘consulting’ services . . on my back. and . . no dime. <\/p>\n
\nSunday soirees, and all the drugs you can smoke . . dinners at at the Odeon.
\nand yet there we were broke as hell, in a nutshell, it’s called: on the bitter side of glitter. <\/p>\n
\none JOE BRADLEY is <\/strong>worth all 70 galleries on the Lower East Side !! circa spring 2014.
\nno matter what KEN JOHNSON says. or doesn’t say. he just laid it out like a tourist road map, is all.
\nhe’s no real<\/strong> scout dog = there !!<\/p>\n<\/a>
\ncard: JOE BRADLEY – ‘SCHMAGOO PAINTINGS’, CANADA, OCT 25-NOV 30, 2008.<\/p>\n