Bradley Hart Reinterprets Classical Paintings (With Bubble Wrap)

Bringing a whole new meaning to "Pop art."

by Ella Riley-Adams

May 1, 2014, 8:00pm

Bradley Hart's artwork brings a whole new meaning to "Pop."

We rarely talk about pixelated images resulting in precise artistry. In fact, that's kind of the fun of bit-limited art: taking high-quality images and making them recognizably lo-res. Toronto-based artist Bradley Hart challenges those assumptions. His canvas of choice? Bubble wrap.

Using custom algorithms and syringes, Bradley Hart injects colored acrylic paint into individual bubbles to create fine three-dimensional paintings. “I like bringing high tech back down to low tech,” he told Forbes in an interview about his latest works, this series of bubble-wrapped versions of classic paintings.

Hart’s bubbled-down version of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring took the artist 450 hours of filling up 34,000 individual bubbles. He explained to Huffington Post that simply filling the syringes alone takes two to three days—he needs 1,200 to 1,500 syringes to make a single portrait.

It’s a precise technique, but Hart is an expert. Taking an almost "glitch" approach to making even more outlandish art, Hart then creates images of his bubble wrap paintings, after the excess paint drips down the backside of the bubble wrap. When it dries, Hart peels off the paint and displays it as an “impression” of his original copy.

Hart’s blistered and bleeding canvases will be on display from May 7 to 31 at New York’s Cavalier Gallery in “The Masters Interpreted: Injections and Impressions by Bradley Hart.” The show will include Hart’s interpretations of the Mona Lisa and even van Gogh’s Self Portrait with Gray Felt Hat.

Below, check out Bradley Hart's "bubble wrapped" classical paintings: