Mark
Bradford has won widespread acclaim for his collage-based paintings made from
materials gathered in and around Leimert Park, the South Central Los Angeles
neighborhood where he lived as a child and continues to maintain a studio.
Using magazines, flyers, newsprint, and other found materials, Bradford creates
densely layered compositions to capture the rhythms of Los Angeles street life.

Circa 1992 looks back on a historic moment: 1992 is the
year of the Rodney King riots that tore Los Angeles apart. In the days that
followed the riots, a local church group issued signs which read “REBUILD SOUTH
CENTRAL WITHOUT LIQUOR STORES!! / RECONSTRUIRAL SUR CENTRAL SIN NEGOCIOS DE
BEBIDAS ALCOHOLICAS!!” More than two decades after this event, Bradford
stenciled the phrase into the densely collaged and sanded surface of this work,
confirming his own commitment to social practice and
community activism.