Contact
blperk@gmail.com
(312) 291-1386
About Brad Perkins
Brad Perkins believes that if eyes are the windows to the soul, then broken windows are the eyes to the past. His work takes on invisibility, abandonment and neglect by looking at buildings and places and asking, “what’s in there?” and “what happened here?” His background in journalism and history helps him imagine the stories of people, places and things that have been forgotten, ignored or just hidden in plain sight. He finds beauty in abandonment and solace in lost buildings.
He travels the world for great photos, seeking to capture the essence of a place by looking at what's been left behind. His photography captures both important elements of a place and the view of what's behind the beauty. He wants to get behind the tourism brochures and see what makes a place tick and what the people think of their environment, all by examining abandoned and neglected buildings, places and things.
His work has been featured in galleries in Chicago, New York City, Portland, Ore., and Vermont and in Lenscratch, Ain’t Bad Magazine, Huffington Post and Motif Collective. He lives in Chicago with his wife and dog and travels often.
Shows, Awards and Publications
JURIED SHOWS
2020: Vicinity, Perspective Gallery, Evanston, Ill. From the Garden (First Runner Up)
2020: Ice House Gallery, Evanston, IL Color Wall
2019: New York Center for Photographic Arts’ Trees and Arches, Jadite Gallery, New York City (Juror’s Selection)
2019: Vicinity, Perspective Gallery, Evanston, Ill.
2017: There’s A Crack in Everything, Perkolator Gallery, Chicago
2017: National Juried Photography Exhibition, Morpho Gallery, Chicago
2017: Art for Life, Venue One, Chicago
2017: Random Acts of Gallery’s All About Beer, Empirical Gallery, Chicago
2016: Focus: Light and Shadow, Black Box Gallery, Portland, Ore.
2016: Emerging Artists, Morpho Gallery, Chicago
2015: Lincoln Square Art Walk, Best of Art Walk and Decorium Gallery, Chicago
2014: Blue, Darkroom Gallery, Essex Junction, Vt.,
HONORS AND AWARDS
First Runner-Up, Perspective Gallery’s “Vicinity” or From the Garden, July 2020
Juror’s Selection. New York Center for Photographic Arts’ Trees and Arches, Jadite Gallery, New York City. September 2019.
Finalist, “Reflective” and “Laughing Window,” Reflections Contest, Motif Collective, March 2017
Finalist, “Going Nowhere,” Transportation Contest, Motif Collective, April 2016
Honorable Mention, “What’s Outside,” Doorways and Passages Contest, Terrabella Media, December 2015
Finalist, “Into the Shadows,” Lines Contest, Motif Collective, September 2015
Finalist, “Heaven and Hell,” Reflections Contest, Motif Collective, July 2015
MEDIA AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Urban Renewal Gallery, Joliet Prison, Chicago, 2019
Ain’t-Bad Magazine, “What We’ve Found--Color”, April 2017
Lenscratch, Masks Exhibition, October 2016
Huffington Post, “18 Places in Chicago to Go When You Need to Recharge & Feel Inspired”, November 2013
Huffington Post, “13 Inspiring Photos of Chicago”, May 2014