Mark Bradford @ Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin

6 Sep 2024 – 18 May 2025

Keep Walking

Mark Bradford’s work has been on my radar for a couple of years now.  Exploring history, societal frameworks and identity all through the prism of the black experience, I’m surprised it took as long as it did, to clock this giant of contemporary American art. Bradford had even even represented the USA at the 2017 Venice Biennale. I then realise that he has barely been shown here in the UK. One piece hangs in the Tate Modern, an exhibition in 2019 at Hauser and Wirth and another at the White Cube in 2010. Have I missed any others? 

A trip to Berlin’s excellent Hamburger Bahnhof, (the National Gallery of Contemporary Art in Berlin), finally gave me the opportunity to see Bradford’s work up close and it didn’t disappoint.

Mark Bradford's "Keep Walking" exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof immerses viewers in a profound exploration of identity, resilience, and the complexities of the human experience. The exhibition unfolds through a series of large-scale works that blend abstraction with socio-political commentary, resonating with personal and collective narratives. His trademark style of using found materials, stuck together, ripped back, painted over, scraped and assembled to build up layers of meaning is here in abundance. 

Much of Bradford’s work has at its core the experiences lived by those in the poor areas of L.A. however, the strength of his work lies in the fact that these experiences are relatable to by a large swathe of the wider public. Although we may not have experienced it directly ourselves, we know that the stories presented happened and are still happening and that their impacts shape our societies today.

Below are some of the key works.

I Don’t Know What I Am (2024) and You Don’t Have To Tell Me Twice (2023)

I Don’t Know What I Am (2024)

I Don’t Know What I Am (2024) - Detail

You Don’t Have To Tell Me Twice (2023)

You Don’t Have To Tell Me Twice (2023) - Detail

These large works form part of Bradford’s Train Timetables series. Relating to the great migration of black Americans from the Southern states to the North. Train timetables, representing the hope of millions as they moved in search of a better life and opportunities. Uprooted families, in a quest for a new beginning. Bradford uses layering of time, distances and places to present a complex narrative of hope, struggle and resilience. The scraped canvas, alluding to the inherent violence that precipitated the need to move. 

The decision to exhibit these two works in the Bahnhof is also an interesting one as the Bahnhof itself was at one point a railway hub. The historical use of railways in Germany is of course marred with their role in the transportation of Jews to the concentration camps of WWII. Therefore Bradford sets up a contrasting narrative; on the one hand railways acting as a symbol of renewed life and hope, whilst on the other death and destruction. The link between the two, being the extreme violence underpinning these human experiences.

Float (2019)

Float (2019)

Float (2019) - Detail

A monumental piece completely covering the floor of one gallery. Terrific on so many levels. Bradford here aims to make the viewer uncomfortable and to feel vulnerable. Walking over artwork is not what a visitor to a museum typically does. It goes against the unspoken rule of art, namely “Don’t Touch!”.

Of course the presence of others already in the room indicates the acceptability of walking on it, however, it is uneven, loose bits of rope are trip hazards. The biggest uncertainty came on spotting a fragment of the installation on the floor, worked loose by people having walked on it. Does picking it up and discreetly putting it in one’s pocket cross another red line? Walking on it is the artist’s intention, does helping yourself to a fragment fall under the same intention? Who knows? I couldn’t possibly say whether I did take it or not, but the temptation was definitely there. What Bradford is therefore trying to engender in his audience is the uncertainty and vulnerability experienced by the marginalised everyday as they try to navigate a society constructed for the benefit of others. 

Manifest Destiny (2023)

Manifest Destiny (2023)

Manifest Destiny (2023) - Detail

As settlers worked their way westwards killing Native Americans and stealing their land, the justification for their actions; this the new life in a new land, was their “manifest destiny”.

Arguably the most hard-hitting work in the exhibition, Bradford here draws parallels between historical land grabs by the coloniser and real estate land grabs by estate agents, as gentrification squeezes out the poor from up and coming areas. Using estate agent advertising posters, signs and other urban detritus, Bradford constructs a narrative of displacement past and present. 

The decision to exhibit at the Bahnhof again throws a light on current parallels with the attempts to land grab in the Middle East. Highlighting again, the oft expressed manifest destiny of the settler. 

Bradford's "Keep Walking" is not just an exhibition but a call to consciousness. It draws upon the intricacies of human experience while reflecting the resilience inherent in personal and collective narratives. Through his masterful layering of materials and meanings, Bradford invites the audience to walk with him—together confronting the complexities of identity, society, and history. A visit to this exhibition is an invitation to reflect on the collective experiences of the marginalised and oppressed both past and present.