Brad Robson (b. 1976) is a painter and muralist. Originally from Sydney, Australia, his art can be seen worldwide. With multi-story works adorning buildings in Berlin, Los Angeles, New York and Barcelona, Robson leaves a growing impression on the art world. For his gallery works, Robson paints exclusively with oils. With exhibitions in the UK, Europe, Australia and the US, he is fast building a reputation as one of the most exciting new painters in the contemporary scene.

Second Skin

“Second Skin” offers a meditation on the complexity of human connection, where the muted tones and blurred edges mirror the intricacies of our own fragmented identities. It is a contemplative and evocative exhibition that draws the viewer into a deeper understanding of the beauty found in ambiguity and the power of subtle shifts in perception.

Brad Robson explores the nuanced interplay between perception, identity, and distortion. This series of intimate portraits, seen through reflective and refractive surfaces, transforms the familiar into fragmented, abstracted impressions. The result is a body of work that blurs the lines between clarity and obscurity, asking viewers to question not just what they see, but how they see it.

Robson’s use of a limited palette and mid- to low-key tonal range enhances the moody, muted atmosphere of each piece. The subtle interplay of soft grays, deep blues, and muted earth tones amplifies the emotional depth, pulling the viewer into a world of quiet tension. The reduced colour scheme serves to heighten the sense of introspection, while the restrained light allows figures to emerge as shadows and impressions, rather than concrete forms. This low-lit approach invites reflection, leaving space for viewers to fill in the gaps between light and dark, known and unknown.

The distortions created by reflections and refractions become a metaphor for the way we experience identity, both our own and others’. These portraits are not just representations of people but are explorations of how perception shifts through various filters—whether emotional, physical, or psychological. Robson’s mastery of texture and brushstroke furthers this sense of ambiguity, inviting the audience to explore the space between reality and illusion.

In the studio, Robson paints works of sweet pop-culture nostalgia – then subjects them to attack. Erasing squeegee strokes disfigure iconic figures, transforming them into something new. Something more. Gods from art, cinema and cartoon culture are assaulted, detained and questioned. It’s a traumatic process but through it something impossible happens. He brings the dry husks of our cultural dead back to life.

By damaging immortal, unchanging pop-exteriors, Robson gives a glimpse of what has been lost. He restores to Marilyn Monroe the vivacious life stolen by a million knock-off coffee mugs and t-shirts. On Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse, he casts a spell of real-world believability, far stronger than any cast by a Disney fairy. To each and every pop-culture icon he paints – he gives back an essence of truth and immediacy we’ve long since lost. His work changes the unchangeable, makes it immediate and brings it so close we can almost reach out and touch it. So real it seems to breathe.

Solo Exhibitions:

2023 ‘I want to be a robot’ Lanford Gallery, Cologne Germany
2022 ‘DADAPOP’ Solo Show, Galerie Ground, Los Angeles
2022 ‘Point Of View’ Vivid Sydney
2021 ‘POP’ Solo Show, 2026, Sydney
2018 Solo Show, Lucky Gallery, Berlin
2017   Canal Street Series, Woodward Gallery, NYC
2015   Urban Scream, Four Seasons Hotel, Woodward Gallery, NYC
2015   Soho Exhibition, Gourmet Garage, Woodward Gallery, NYC
2015   Ghost Project, Woodward Gallery, NYC
2015   Solo Exhibition, Spectrum Now Festival, Sydney, AU
2014   Together Alone, Create Or Die, Sydney, AU
2013   Blindsight, Gallery Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY
2013   New Works, Kaleidoscope Gallery, Sydney, AU

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2021 RAVEL, Twenty Twenty Six Gallery, Bondi Beach, AU
2019 Paddington Art Prize, Menzies Art Brands, AU
2019 Famed, Permanent Exhibition, NHow Gallery, Berlin
2019 Summer Salon show, Woodward Gallery, NYC
2017   L’Etranger Ambush Gallery, Sydney, AU
2013   To Deny Our Nothingness, Gallery Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY
2012   Pop-Up Exhibition, Platform 72, Sydney, AU
2012   Art EXPO, Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, AU
2013   33 Degrees, Kaleidoscope Gallery, Sydney, AU
2013   Run, Rabbit, Run, SVA Alumni, Westside Gallery, NYC

Public Murals & Projects:

2020 Women’s Honour, Edge Newtown, Newtown, AU
2019 The Weinmeister Hotel, Signature room by Lucky gallery, Berlin
2019   Twiggy, Perfect Match, Marrickville, AU
2019   Rose Coloured Glasses, mural, NYC
2018   Marilyn, Portrait Mural, Berlin
2017   AMP Capital, Portraits Mural, Marrickville Metro, AU
2017   Historic Portraits Past and Present, Perfect Match, Marrickville, AU
2017   The School Feature Film Illustrations
2017   Hollywood Portraits Mural, Los Feliz Vintage Cinema, Los Angeles
2017   Store Painting, Burton Flagship Store, NYC
2016   Lower East Side Gate Mural, 100 Gates Project, NYC
2016   Above the Law, Mural, Igualada, Spain
2016   In-Store Mural, Hive Bar, Sydney, AU
2016   In-House Mural, Create or Die, Sydney, AU
2015   Atomic Child, Mural, Sydney, AU
2015   In-House Mural, Newton Hotel, Sydney, AU
2014   Mural, Brooklyn Crab, Brooklyn, NY
2014   Optus Live Painting, “Elektra Spectra” Conference, Luna Park, Sydney, AU
2012   Mural, Brooklyn Crab, Brooklyn, NY
2012   In-House Mural, Glue Store, Sydney, AU
2011   Mural, SBS World Movies, Sydney, AU

Photography Credit: Hugh Stewart