The last time you were at the Salvador Dali Museum and you saw the dripping-clock bench in the Avant-Garden or the Rainy Taxi inside the gift shop, did you ever wonder who designed them or who was responsible for creating them? Would it surprise you to know that they were from the mind of an artist who lives right here in St. Petersburg that you have probably never heard of?
Sculptor Kevin Brady flies under the radar on purpose. He rarely ever participates in local art shows or sells through regional galleries. He prefers to work by commission, coming up with creative ideas and pitching them to people and institutions that might profit from his visionary designs.
Born in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Brady grew up in a creative household surrounded by artists of all stripes. From the age of six he began cleaning and helping out at the studio of neighbor and esteemed bronze sculptor Allen Harris. Hired for a dollar a day, this seemed like a fortune to the aspiring artist and started him on s sculptural journey he is still exploring today. After witnessing Harris’ untimely death at the tender age of 12, Brady began apprenticing at the art studio of Charles L. Madden, furthering his introduction to large scale sculpture and public and corporate art. While still in high school Brady also began auditing classes at the then Philadelphia College of Art. In other words, Brady already had extensive experience and education in sculpting before he even reached adulthood.
One of the lessons Brady learned early at the side of so many gifted artists was that talent does not necessarily correlate directly to the price an artist can command. He has shaped his career accordingly, preferring to control his own work and expectations. He is mostly drawn to artists like Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, and Isamu Noguchi who fought against being pigeon-holed; instead choosing to follow their own instincts.
Brady has worked with innumerable artists throughout his career, assisting on major sculptures with the likes of Raymond Kaskey, Timothy Duffield, and Zenos Frudakis, and sculpting jewelry for Tiffany and Co. And while he states that he has never actually applied for a job, his experience has brought him into such positions as Art Director at the Holography International in Pennsylvania where he created sculpture for holograms and a stint as an enlargement sculptor at the Laran bronze Foundry, also in PA. Other positions include Senior Sculptor at A.C. Coin & Slot Co. in New Jersey, Creative Director at Creative Arts Unlimited in Pinellas Park, and researching patented inventions as Patent Assessment Officer at Equitable IP Corporation in PA.
But it is his personal work that really reveals his visionary genius. The Dali bench was something he just dreamed up and pitched to the Dali Museum. It was voted one of the Top 10 Best Designed Benches in the World, by design/curial.
Rainy Taxi was a little more complicated. Salvador Dali had created multiple taxis where it rained inside a car. Brady thought an homage would make a great addition to the Dali Museum and made the pitch. Brady ended up overseeing a collaborative project that involved the Cerf family of the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum and a team of mechanics and engineers. And while Dali’s version did indeed make it “rain” inside a car, Brady and team improved on the technology so that the irreplaceable 1933 Rolls Royce was not damaged in the effort.
Other public commissions include The Ace sculpture fountain at the Phillie’s stadium in Clearwater. In typical Brady style, he made a cold call to the league and pitched them on the idea and they agreed it was a perfect fit. Brady designed the uniform to be a combination of 100 years of Philadelphia Phillie’s uniforms.
Kevin is married to fellow artist, Susan Supper. Together they moved to St. Petersburg in 2000 after having made holiday visits to family living in St. Pete Beach. Kevin is a captivating story teller and his tales of adventures and the artists he has worked with and caroused with sounds almost implausible. But he has an infectious joyous spirit and an evening drinking wine on the porch can turn into a fun–top this!–kind of experience. Suddenly, it all makes perfect sense. Until recently, Kevin and Susan also had a home in Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania where they befriended and worked on creative projects with family and close associates of beloved artist Andrew Wyeth.
His newest series of sculptures is the one that could shoot him to fame, if people only knew about it. He calls them Foreshadow Sculptures. Brady creates sculptures that evoke or honor a person visually. The kicker, though, is that when light is directed through the sculpture, a perfect shadow portrait is projected on the wall behind. It is unexpected and quite honestly, a bit mind-blowing. It seems like a parlor trick, until you realize that Brady has designed the sculpture so perfectly, it just works. For example, a sculpture of a musical treble cleff projects a shadow of legendary musician John Lennon, or a sculpture of a baby bird being plucked out of its nest projects a perfect portrait of Woody Allen. How about a tomato soup can that projects Andy Warhol? Other works feature Salvador Dali, Jimi Hendrix, and The Beatles, among others. Works from this series already are in select museums and collections. He has even been known to create a personal Foreshadow Sculpture on commission.
Inventive, visionary, and ingenious, Kevin Brady lives and works in a series of storefronts in the Grand Central district, bought in the early 2000’s when such a thing was still do-able to the common man. He and Susan were clearly visionary in that way too. But you won’t see a sign or any kind of advertising on their building. The artists prefer it that way; flying below the radar is what they prefer.
The next time you pass some outdoor installation, give a little thought to how such a thing came to be. The creator might actually be closer than you think.
