Artist: Paige Bradley (USA)
Dimensions: 36 x 47 x 21 in
Medium: Bronze, Electricity, and Mixed Media
Origin: USA
Currently Placed: Private collection, New York City
Expansion is a profoundly powerful sculpture. Some viewers see a woman bleeding light, while others see a woman transcending — turning into light through her inner strength. This unique work, combined with the title Expansion, communicates its intended message beautifully: do not be afraid to expand beyond your body and societal structures. When the time is right, sometimes we must crack open our own rigid shells to express our inner selves and emotions.
Initially, Expansion began as a clay sculpture that the artist spent months refining — a woman meditating in the lotus position. Bradley then deliberately shattered the sculpture into pieces, cast it in bronze, and placed the fragments of the original version on top. The finishing touch was the internal lighting, which gives the sculpture its breathtaking inner glow, radiating through the cracks.
The story behind this remarkable work is one of transformation and perseverance. Bradley conceived the idea soon after moving to Manhattan — a time when figurative artists struggled to find exhibition spaces and often turned to teaching. She realized that if she wanted to remain true to fine art, she needed to evolve her work to embrace contemporary forms while retaining her figurative essence.
Born in 1974, Paige Bradley is an American sculptor best known for her expressive figurative bronzes. Her passion for art began early — by the age of nine, she already knew she was destined to be an artist. Immersed in both art and nature, Bradley developed a fascination with the human form, believing it to be a universal language — timeless and deeply human.
In her own words:
"From the moment we are born, the world tends to have a container already built for us to fit inside — a social security number, a gender, a race, a profession, or an IQ. I ponder if we are more defined by the container we are in, rather than what we are inside. Would we recognize ourselves if we could expand beyond our bodies? Would we still be able to exist if we were authentically un-contained?"
This reflection captures the irony of containment — that only by pushing against the walls around us can we truly discover how strong we are.
Manesha Peiris (2021)
