Brad Phillips (artist)

Brad Phillips (born 1974 in Toronto, Ontario) is a contemporary Canadian painter and writer. He is best known for his dark complex work with the deep tropes of suicide, sex and self-injury. He has exhibited around the world, and is the subject of various critical texts and interviews. He began writing in 2009, and his published essays are part of his work-in-progress, I Believe in God. He resided in Vancouver between 2002 and 2013 and currently lives in Ontario.

Phillips grew up in the Toronto suburbs of Pickering and Scarborough.

Aesthetically, Phillips is noted for his photorealist style and often references his own photographs to compose his paintings. He is known for his dark and often sinister imagery as well as text-based works, many of which include literary references. He often employs satire, autobiography, and black humor in his paintings. Phillips calls his work highly biographical and likens his style to "confessional poetry."

Notable solo exhibitions by Phillips have been held at Wallspace Gallery (New York), Monte Clark Gallery (Vancouver and Toronto), Residence Gallery (London, UK), Groeflin Maag Galerie (Zurich), Galerie ZK (Berlin), LaMontagne Gallery (Boston) and at the Liste 07 Young Art Fair (Basel). His work has also been included in group exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Gallery, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, and in Guy Maddin's "The Keyhole Project" at the Beursschouwburg in Belgium. His work has been shown at international art fairs, including the Armory Show New York, NADA Fair Miami, the Toronto International Art Fair and others. Phillips, representing Western Canada, was a finalist in the RBC Painting Competition in 2004. Brad Phillips' work has been published in The New York Times, Carte Blanche Volume II, The Walrus, and his 2013 exhibition at Louis B. James Gallery was listed as one of the top 100 Fall shows by Modern Painters (magazine).

Brad Phillips' works are included in art collections of the Glenbow Museum, the Capital Group Companies, the Royal Bank of Canada, Hauser & Wirth Collection, and the Toronto philanthropist W. Bruce C Bailey.

Articles written by Phillips have been published in Modern Painters (magazine), The Enemy, The Art Book Review, and Hunter and Cook. Artists he has interviewed for journals include Jeff Wall, Sean Landers, Daniel Gordon, Laura Owens and Kirsten Stoltmann. Phillips is also a regular contributor to Modern Painters (magazine), ArtSlant, The Art Book Review, Millions Magazine, and Adult Magazine.

• "Mother Nature Mother Creature," (2014), Perish Publishing, Toronto
• "Regular Creep," (2014), Swimmer's Group, Toronto
• "The Devil May Care," (2014) Aaron Mcelroy, (page 5) S_U_N_ Books and Editions
• "My Apologies Accepted," (2014) Bunny Rogers cover Image, Civil Coping Mechanisms, USA
• The Life and Times of William Callahan (2012) cover image, 0–100, Italy
• Brad Phillips: Hope Against Reason, (2009), TV Books, New York
• Brad Phillips: Suicide Note Writers Block, (2007), Cederteg/Libraryman, Stockholm, Sweden