As curator of Kiddie Pool, I am so thrilled to debut Judith Braun’s newest body of work — larger than life portraits from her circle of acquaintances — plus selected artworks from her 3rd Wave Feminist era in NYC’s Lower East Side. The portraits are built of, even armored in, layer upon layer of collaged photocopies as the figures emerge from darkness, dusted in stars and draped in the detritus of the patriarchal gaze. These bitches are bad because they are unapologetically making their own myths, sanctioned by Braun’s irreverent approach and masterful application of her chosen medium. Earlier works from her archive wield empowerment through playful pleasure by reclaiming their tainted names with a wink and mocking nod, showing us exactly why being bad can feel so damn good.

Braun’s work is vibrantly alive, like the carbon mediums that it is constructed of. Carbon forms a powerful bond and is the backbone of life as we know it. It also provides a structuring hand to her mediums of choice — charcoal, graphite, and photocopy toner. The use of accessible materials such as photocopies, collage and Tyvek in Judith’s new portraits brings us back to the resourceful NYC Lower East Side art community that fostered her emerging practice during the heady 1980’s. Completing this web of bonds is her interpersonal call and response approach to portrait making, which I had the pleasure of experiencing for myself as her first muse.

Judith goes to everything, investing in her community of artists with the same direct and energetic passion that is distilled into her artworks. Frankly, it is the stuff of legend. Guided by her experience with the materials of life, we can all be as bad as we want to be.

—Karley Sullivan, June 28, 2024