Martin Bradley lived a cosmopolitan life, widely travelled with an admiration for world cultures that defines his visual language. At the age of only fourteen, he ran away from his guardian in London, boarding a ship for South America. Returning three years later, he studied oriental languages, literature and art developing a particular affiliation for the art and calligraphy of China and Japan.

Something of an 'enfant terrible', he occupied an unconventional circle of artists and writers in London and became known as the 'Rimbaud of Soho' for his hard-drinking lifestyle. Gimpel Fils held his first solo exhibition in 1954, and he subsequently exhibited with Redfern Gallery and Gallery One, with his works acquired notably by Roland Penrose, Herbert Read and Barbara Hepworth. He left for Paris in the late 1950s and exhibited with Galerie Rive Gauche, whose artists included Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy and Rene Magritte.

Bradley continued to travel widely, spending time in Spain, Brazil and Asia, where he cultivated his gift as a linguist. He spoke ten languages including Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan and Hindu. He converted to Nichiren Buddhism 'which changed the whole foundation of my thinking'.

Primarily an abstract painter, symbolism features heavily in his work, seen in the present Composition. It takes its inspiration from Mongolian culture, depicting the framework of a 'yurt' and traditional headdress above, and was painted while sharing a studio with the artist John Christoforou (1921-2014).
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