BRADY LEGLER
Evan Lobel
Brady Legler, a Kansas City native was born into a family influenced by fashion and art. Brady picked up a paintbrush at the age of 5 and never set it down. Painting became his chosen method of experimentation and personal growth. Forms, textures and colors became Brady’s vocabulary. In his teens he started to branch out by designing jewelry which he saw as functional art (sculpture). He was close to and inspired by his Italian grandmother, a fashion model from the 1940’s to the 1960’s. Brady’s mother, also a model, is the brand ambassador of his now eponymous jewelry line.
In 2010 Brady started began his studies at Parsons The New School in New York. His paintings were evolving, with broad brush strokes, unique color combinations, and experimental methods of applying paint to canvas. Brady paints in a palette as vibrant as any Impressionist painting. Whether the subject matter is abstract or realistic, the overall effect is emotional and optimistic.
Brady approaches each canvas differently. They are one-of-a-kind works so the process varies. “I’ve finished a few paintings in a week’s time but some take months to complete because I want every painting to be beautiful. For me there’s a huge difference between what’s pretty and what’s beautiful. Pretty skims the surface, it tries to sweep all the flaws under the rug, pretty is easy and formulaic. Pretty art can be cranked out in no time at all. Beauty is harder to define and much harder to produce. I start out many of my paintings in bright colors with pleasing organic shapes which sounds sort of formulaic. But then I try to listen to my intuition and emotions and that’s when the real creative process begins. And sometimes that means that I let in the flaws and dark edges and incorporate them into the overall paintings. Incorporating all those different elements can seem nearly impossible but when you succeed, it’s real art. It’s kind of like life that way."
Brady looks to many artists for inspiration. “Franz Kline is my favorite abstract expressionist artist. His work strikes a strange balance between chaos and order. The brushwork is bold and sweeping but the way he intersects lines gives the works an underlying architecture. The combination makes his paintings look spontaneous and thoughtful at the same time. Wassily Kandinsky inspires me too. By giving his works a sense of depth and motion, he makes his abstract paintings seem like their own little worlds.” Other artists he likes include Paul Klee, Joan Mitchell, Blu, RESO and TILT.
About his own art, Brady has this to say: “I like to work on large canvases because I like to see walls covered in color. Art won't cure cancer or feed the world, but it might make someone smile, dream, escape for a few moments. It might stimulate conversation or provoke ideas. Graffiti is art, flowers are art, tattoos are art, what's on a cereal box is art. You can't look at a book or magazine and not see art. Art is everywhere.”
Brady’s paintings have sold worldwide and samples of his work have appeared in Elle Décor, Modern, Hunger UK, Modern and Spaces.