Directed by Alex Rappoport • Documentary • With Peter Bradley • 2024 • 86 minutes
When filmmaker Alex Rappoport met then-79-year-old abstract artist Peter Bradley in early 2020, Bradley hadn't sold many paintings or had a major show in over four decades - yet he still painted every day in a shipping-container studio heated by a wood stove, no matter what the weather. Over time, Rappoport recorded Bradley's fascinating life story, which occupies a unique and seemingly overlooked place in art history.
At once an intimate portrait and a study of the creative process, WITH PETER BRADLEY is situated entirely at the artist’s rural home and studio, unfolding over changing seasons. The sole figure on screen, Bradley narrates his life in a series of unscripted conversations: often provocative, sometimes bitter, and full of surprises. Bradley’s confidence and insistence on what makes a picture a complete picture speaks to the mysterious yet intuitive nature of his creativity. WITH PETER BRADLEY is a celebration of artmaking, resilience, and the creative contributions of Black artists to American life. It focuses a long-overdue lens on Bradley and shines a light on his rightful place in the ongoing movement toward racial equity in the arts and our society.
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