Meet: Adam Bridgland

We’re delighted to announce that our limited edition print artist for the Affordable Art Fair NYC fall 2018 is none other than Adam Bridgland, represented by TAG Fine Arts. Adam is an exciting addition to the roster of commissioned artists who have been selected to create a editioned print, unique to the fall edition, available for purchase at the fair.

Since 2013, Affordable Art Fair NYC has released a limited edition print in collaboration with a commissioned artist. Adam joins a smorgasbord of talented printmakers specializing in a variety of mediums, from large-scale woodcuts to mixed media collage pieces, each artwork featuring the fair’s signature pink and inspired by our very own New York City. Limited to an edition size of 10, Adam’s print “ I Need This Wilderness For My Heart To Beat (NYC)” will be exhibited next to the Under $500 Wall, on Level 1.

We sat down with Adam to chat about his inspiration for the print, upcoming projects and his advice for aspiring contemporary artists today.

INTERVIEW WITH PRINTMAKER ADAM BRIDGLAND

YOU GRADUATED FROM THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART IN 2006 WITH A MA DEGREE IN FINE ART PRINTING. WHAT SPARKED YOUR INTEREST IN SCREEN-PRINTING?

My journey with screen-printing started during my art foundation year in Cambridge. I had been a painter throughout my early studies until my tutor said that the way I placed paint on to the canvas was very methodical, like I was printmaking. He suggested that I should try screen-printing and discussed Andy Warhol, whose artwork I was particularly enamored with. Ever since then it has played a huge role in my practice. I love the mechanics of the process, the beauty of transferring an image through a screen on to a substrate below.

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE LIMITED EDITION PRINT YOU CREATED FOR AFFORDABLE ART FAIR NYC?

The limited edition print is a continuation of a sculptural work I completed for TAG Fine Arts at a previous art fair in January 2018. The phrase is one that I feel resonates with us all. The city is a wilderness, something we need. The juxtaposition of the sprayed text against a found photograph of the iconic Empire State Building amplifies this sense and importance of the words.

WHAT DOES A NORMAL DAY IN YOUR STUDIO LOOK LIKE?

There is never really a normal day. That is one of the most exciting elements of being an artist. I am always working on a number of projects that can take me to a variety of locations. I try to spend as much time there working on ideas before taking these to be fabricated in the print studio. I have never had set hours and I can often be found working late in to the night completing commissions.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE MOST CHALLENGING AND THE MOST REWARDING ASPECTS OF BEING AN ARTIST TODAY?

Engaging with people is definitely the most rewarding, particularly when it is with those who wouldn’t normally consider visiting an art gallery or art fair for example. My Wilderness sculpture for TAG Fine Arts at the Business and Design Centre London is an example where placing an art work within the cityscape away from a gallery space has been particularly successful, resonating with many people.

In the same way for me the most challenging is creating the artwork that can engage, to find the opportunities to allow myself to create.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING ARTISTS?

Learn to except the word no – in relation to opportunities, take the projects that come your way and make the best of these. If you don’t get a commission or exhibition don’t let it affect you, move on and embrace those that you have. Also always look to collaborate. It can take your practice in new exciting directions, expanding your vision.

YOU HAVE EXHIBITED EXTENSIVELY NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, AND YOU HAVE DONE MANY EXCITING PROJECTS SINCE YOUR FIRST PUBLIC ART COMMISSION IN 2019. WHAT EXHIBITIONS AND PROJECTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

I think creating works that now sit in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum and British Museum, London are something I am very proud of. In the past year I have also been commissioned to create a bike, something very different to anything I have done before.

WHATS NEXT FOR YOU?

At present I am making new works towards a solo exhibition in 2019 as well as working with one of my main collaborators Danny Augustine as Augustine & Bridgland, towards a commission for Comme Des Garcons.

Find the limited edition print on-site at Affordable Art Fair NYC, September 27-30, on Level 1 by the Under $500 Wall.

To book your tickets and see Adam’s print in real life, click here »

Main Image:
Adam Bridgland in Studio. Courtesy of the artist and TAG Fine Arts.

Featured art from first to last:

Adam Bridgland, I Need This Wilderness For My Heart To Beat (NYC), 2018, 27.6 x 19.7 in, screen print on Somerset Tub Sized Satin 410 gsm with hand spray paint overlays, 27.6 x 19.7 in, limited edition of 10, unframed: $300 framed $600, courtesy of the artist and TAG Fine Arts.

Adam printing on the beach nearby Great Yarmouth. Courtesy of the artist and TAG Fine Arts.