Brady Austin Rider is a Los Angeles-based artist working primarily in oil paint while exploring other media such as photography and mixed media paintings. He makes work that is naturally introspective, reflecting on his past, making sense of the present, and celebrating the future. He approaches a representation of a particular moment by documenting what occurred immediately before and after; making sense of this elusive “moment”. He was born and raised in a small town in South Carolina and is often in dialogue with the younger version of himself. His formerly suppressed queer identity is now celebrated in his work through the lens of different places he has lived; Chicago, Paris, and Los Angeles. Brady has and continues to explore psychedelics and altered states of mind, which he attributes to his optimistic approach toward life. He aims to spread this newfound love and joy with all who come in contact with his work. 

Before starting a painting, he considers himself a photographer and writer, documenting moments with his camera and trying to put words to his racing mind. Working with traditional film photography, polaroids, and writing stream-of-consciousness poetry helps him to lay the thematic groundwork for the stories he tells through his brush strokes. He is interested in representatively revealing the energies of human subjects, usually his fiancé, queer friends, and family members. The body is always of interest to him. The undressed body. The rawness of ever-changing flesh. He focuses heavily on the face.

His fluid, psychedelic style aims to represent a moment in time. He has realized that a singular moment is ephemeral, or ever fleeting. Energies, flesh, emotion, bodily movements; these attributes are the basis on which he begins work and delicately lays atop in minuscule detail. These ideas are represented in his abstract portraiture and purely abstract works. In addition to the fluid brushstrokes, he has a very intimate relationship with color and is always exploring the depths of its possibilities. 

Certificate in Fine Arts - Paris College of Arts - Paris, France 2023

BA in Visual Arts - University of Chicago - Chicago, Illinois 2022