As one of the key figures of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s in New York, Ross Bleckner explores themes of change, loss and memory in his art and often reflects on the body, health and illness, in a similar way to memento mori. His art emphasizes the fragility of the human body and symbolizes it as a thin barrier between life and disaster. Using abstract forms such as lines and dots and representational imagery such as birds, flowers and brains, Bleckner's multicolored, voluminous circles - often resembling microscopic blood droplets or molecules - have a hypnotic effect against dark backgrounds. Bleckner made history by opening a mid-career retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum at the age of 45. His work is featured in major museums such as MoMA, the Whitney Museum and the Guggenheim, and international institutions such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Reina Sofia and the Kunstmuseum Luzern. His art is inspired by the AIDS epidemic and explores the human...
As one of the key figures of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s in New York, Ross Bleckner explores themes of change, loss and memory in his art and often reflects on the body, health and illness, in a similar way to memento mori. His art emphasizes the fragility of the human body and symbolizes it as a thin barrier between life and disaster. Using abstract forms such as lines and dots and representational imagery such as birds, flowers and brains, Bleckner's multicolored, voluminous circles - often resembling microscopic blood droplets or molecules - have a hypnotic effect against dark backgrounds.
Bleckner made history by opening a mid-career retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum at the age of 45. His work is exhibited in major museums such as MoMA, the Whitney Museum and the Guggenheim, and international institutions such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Reina Sofia and the Kunstmuseum Luzern. His art often explores human vulnerability, inspired by the AIDS epidemic, and extends beyond this to activism and alternative therapies.
Beginning his career in 1975, Bleckner's large-scale works evoke universal themes of loss and transformation, from his early abstract works to his later symbolic works. The Flower series commemorates those lost to AIDS and continues to keep their memory alive.
