Brad Novak
Brad Novak is the first artist in New Zealand’s history to exhibit concurrently with both the pop and street art global elite such as Warhol, Haring, Lichtenstein, Obey, Brainwash and Banksy (Toronto, 2015).
Brad Novak (aka New Blood Pop) is a leading urban pop artist who wants us to “keep our inner child alive”. His works sits sharply at the nexus between pop art and street art.
He is the first artist in New Zealand’s history to exhibit concurrently with both the pop and street art global elite such as Warhol, Haring, Lichtenstein, Obey, Brainwash and Banksy (Toronto, 2015).
Novak’s art practice covers two main themes.
The first is the subjective nature of identity, through his Hybrid series. In the artist's own words:
“I believe there’s this flawed human tendency for us to label (and thereby limit) not only ourselves but also others. I’m trying to reject this through combining both art and medical careers even though it’s proving increasingly difficult. For the last 10 or so years art has been well and truly taking over!”
The second deals with what he calls 'The Digital Dilemma'. In the artist's own words:
"This increasingly technological age hasn’t made us any happier, or connected us more deeply, rather in my opinion it’s been doing the exact opposite."
This has led on to further commentary:
“A few years ago, I started a series centred around the concept of the Shadow Life. I’ve been developing a theory that many of us (myself included) have been living these shadow lives, distracted by tech. These works signal that there’s huge untapped potential. What could we become if we embraced our authentic inner self?”
Novak currently shows internationally with galleries in the USA, UK and NZ.