Contemporary artist Ross Bleckner is interested in the human states of memory and loss. Through his use of ‘soft-focus ambiguity’, Bleckner’s paintings often initiate a dialogue within the viewer. And his exhibitions are exceedingly worthwhile.
Bleckner’s imagery leaves room for the viewer at the table of interpretation. In this way Bleckner invites the kind of collaboration with his audience that is essential for art to breath on its own. If Bleckner’s paintings stand on their own outside his New York studio, it is because Bleckner bridges his abstraction with just the right amount of realism. He gives his audience opportunities to connect with their own experience and ideas. A student of Chuck Close, he has solo exhibited at Mary Boone Gallery NY, SF MoMA, the Milwaulkee Museum, the Carnegie Museum, and the Guggenheim, to name a few. Bleckner has also participated in numerous international shows both solo and group, including the Guild Hall Museum East Hampton NY and the Kunsthaus Zurish Switzerland.
“A spiritual search in art is looking for meaning outside of yourself”
Bleckner is also interested in social justice. Earlier this year he brought art materials with him when he traveled to Uganda. Once there he worked with children from Uganda’s war-torn Gulu region, introducing them to expression through color and brush. The New York Times tells the story here. Paintings from that trip will be auctioned at a benefit this spring in conjunction with the announcement of Bleckner’s appointment as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
On View: Top: “Birdland”, 2000, Oil on Linen, 96″x96″, by Ross Bleckner. Courtesy of Ross Bleckner. Above: “Inheritance”, 2003, Oil on linen, 72″ x 72″, by Ross Bleckner. Courtesy of Ross Bleckner.