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Lot Essay
“A flower has such a short life span; it blooms and it is so majestic at its height but then it just falls away. I find pleasure in painting them and then seeing what happens when they become just a trace of something left. I’ve always been amazed by what’s not there anymore” -R. Bleckner
Widely known for his large-format paintings that provoke passage into channels of remembrance and loss, Ross Bleckner’s works deal "literally and metaphorically with the idea of death" (M. Herbert, "Ross Bleckner", Tema Celeste, 2001, p. 83.). Using the medium of abstraction to explore the idea of the afterlife—a place where spirituality and science converge, his paintings function almost as memento mori. In response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, he created works featuring dark backgrounds like channels to some otherworldly, contemplative space. These "flower paintings" are atmospheric and illusionistic. Birds and flower petals seem to float, suspended in a void that calls to mind not only the darkness of nature but also that of the subconscious or human psyche. Bleckner encourages the viewer to interpret—to look longer and contemplate that haunting crossroads of interior and exterior, the visceral and transcendent.
Widely known for his large-format paintings that provoke passage into channels of remembrance and loss, Ross Bleckner’s works deal "literally and metaphorically with the idea of death" (M. Herbert, "Ross Bleckner", Tema Celeste, 2001, p. 83.). Using the medium of abstraction to explore the idea of the afterlife—a place where spirituality and science converge, his paintings function almost as memento mori. In response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, he created works featuring dark backgrounds like channels to some otherworldly, contemplative space. These "flower paintings" are atmospheric and illusionistic. Birds and flower petals seem to float, suspended in a void that calls to mind not only the darkness of nature but also that of the subconscious or human psyche. Bleckner encourages the viewer to interpret—to look longer and contemplate that haunting crossroads of interior and exterior, the visceral and transcendent.