The Indiana University Northwest Gallery for Contemporary Art, in an inaugural partnership with the Indiana University Art Museum, invites the campus community and public to view Color and Form: Selected Works by Morton C. Bradley Jr. The exhibit opens Monday, October 1 and is on view through Friday, October 26.

Harvard-educated, Morton C. Bradley (1912–2004) spent many decades of his life creating mathematically inspired sculptures, which he bequeathed to the IU Art Museum and Indiana University.

Bradley is best known for his geometric sculptures, full of life and color that evoke words like “crystal”, “kaleidoscope”, “prism” or even “snowflake” when viewing.

“His [Bradley’s] admiration for traditional patterns, his fascination with the science of color, and his exploration of mathematical design all seamlessly and perfectly align,” said Ann Fritz, Director, IU Northwest Gallery for Contemporary Art.

Bradley’s first art pieces were colorful reliefs with patterns of applied geometric forms. His work quickly evolved into an exploration of polyhedrons, with his designs rapidly progressing over the years.

Much of Bradley’s inspiration came from traditional two-dimensional patterns from around the world, such as Italian cathedrals and Egyptian and Arabic architecture and textiles. His transformation of the two-dimensional patterns onto multiple intersecting planes resulted in the creation of new three-dimensional forms.

“The artist’s exploration of mathematical design, consistent in all of his sculptures, makes this exhibit interdisciplinary,” Fritz said. “Not only will our fine art students find this exhibit of interest, but so will our math and psychology students. It will open doors of discussion and analysis focused on symmetry, shape, form, and even the psychology behind color as it is linked to emotions.”

Bradley’s love for color and form went beyond his artistic creations. He was also a researcher and theorist on subjects such as sentence structure, teaching methodology for foreign languages, anthropometry, and music theory.

“Morton Bradley was a quiet genius whose accomplishments as an artist deal with great universal ideas,” said Heidi Gealt, Director, IU Art Museum. “It is a genuine pleasure to have the Art Museum’s first partnership with IU Northwest focus on Mr. Bradley’s beautiful legacy.”

The traveling exhibit is made possible through IU’s Moveable Feast of the Arts Initiative, supported by the Lilly Endowment.

Additional details on the life and works of Bradley can be found here, or in the book authored by Lynn Gamwell recently published by IU Press: Color and Form: The Geometric Sculptures of Morton C. Bradley, Jr.

The IU Northwest Gallery for Contemporary Art is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

The gallery is located in the Savannah Center neighboring the IU Northwest Bookstore.

For information on parking, please visit www.iun.edu/parking.