Brandon Sadler’s practice explores language, image, and storytelling, merging traditional and contemporary approaches into expansive forms of cultural synthesis and world-building. He develops a hybrid visual language that spans histories and geographies, examining identity, spirituality, transformation, and belonging through East Asian painting, Japanese woodblock prints, manga, Afrofuturism, and his perspective as a Black artist from the American South.
Central to his work is the Single Word Character system, a calligraphy method Sadler developed by reshaping English words through the structural principles of Chinese script. Each character begins with letters arranged in a square format and is transformed through stroke, balance, and flow, creating symbols that convey meaning while moving beyond legibility and allowing experimentation with form and materiality.
This system anchors The Path of Totality, an episodic series expressed through figurative painting, calligraphy, installation, and performance, in which mythical beings wield language to build and transform realities. Inspired by Sun Ra, Sadler constructs new worlds when existing ones leave no space for full existence—imagined realms where rigid views and oppression fall away, opening pathways to interconnectedness and expansion.
Single Word Character (2019-present)
Developed through years of research and design experimentation, the Single Word Character system began in 2009 with alphabet-based studies and evolved in 2019 into complete word forms. Each character transforms an English word into a square-based design—reflecting the structure of Chinese script—and applies the principles of calligraphy to explore balance, rhythm, and flow. The result is a fusion of linguistic design, mindful gesture, and visual harmony. The discipline and precision cultivated through this calligraphic practice inform the intricate brushwork in Sadler’s figurative paintings, where structure and spontaneity converge in ink.
The Path of Totality: Chapter One– Bathed in Shadow, NCMA Winston-Salem, 2025
Early Alphabet Forms (2009-2019)
Change & Perception series (2016)
This series investigates change and perception through a dialogue between Helvetica and calligraphy-inspired forms, where familiar letters are displaced, rotated, and reimagined to reveal tension, flow, and unexpected connections.
Nothing is Sacred (2013)
In this experimental short film, Sadler brings us into his world and introduces us to The Three, spirit beings embodied as the Tiger, the Mantis, and the Snake. The Three dwell in the mind of the protagonist in the film, and reveal to him the path to enlightenment. As Brandon travels the landscape of his psyche, each of The Three guide him through worlds of fire, air, and water and teach him the skills he will need to defeat his ultimate enemy. Himself.
Tiger, Mantis, & Snake (2013)
Martial arts and Kung Fu philosophy have shaped Brandon Sadler’s approach to movement and form, inspiring his calligraphy practice. Drawing from modern Chinese scripts—Standard, Semi-cursive, and Cursive—he developed a lettering system he calls Tiger, Mantis, and Snake styles. These forms bridge the structure of Chinese characters with the English alphabet, blending precision, flow, and expressive energy.
