Bradley Theodore

Born in the Turks and Caicos and now based in New York and Miami, Theodore’s international background has deeply influenced his artistic vision. He has lived in Paris, he speaks Japanese, he has travelled the world painting African presidents and European designers…a life which has earned him a reputation as a cultural and geographical nomad.

Before breaking into the fine art scene, Theodore had his roots in street art and a passion for fashion. His connections with early streetwear brands like Bathing Ape reflect his crossover between art, style, and urban culture and this link still runs through his work today, with high end brand collaborations, New York fashion week and Milan Design Week commissions, projects with Coachella and subjects inspired by high profile friends and colleagues from the fashion world all featuring in his extraordinary oeuvre.

Theodore’s early street art has endured the ravages of time, as rather than covering it, other artists have shown their respect by tagging around it. Surviving in locations from Porto Cervo in Sardinia to Paris, Tokyo, Montenegro, NYC, and even his early home of Turks and Caicos, it has become some of the oldest existing artwork in one of the 21st century’s most exciting, but fragile, genres. Perhaps the most unusual location for one of these preserved street murals is the Porto Montenegro Museum, where his iconic portrayal of Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld is on show mounted on the Yugoslav Navy's decommissioned 1960s submarine, 'Hero'.

Over the years Theodore has painted and worked with stars from many worlds, but in the summer of 2024 he took this to a different level by sending his art on a literal voyage around the stars. A small series of his portraits of influential world figures, plus one abstract piece designed to reflect on the place of humanity in the cosmos, travelled into space on board Blue Origin with Scottish astronaut Nicolina Elrick. While a small number of other artists, Damien Hirst among them, have sent their works into space, Theodore’s are the only pieces which have ever returned home to Earth. They are now on show, stamped by NASA, as authentication of their unique and remarkable provenance.