An American contemporary artist. Grew up in Hewlett, Long Island,
graduated in 1971 from New York University and earned an M.F.A. from
the California Institute of the Arts in 1973.
For the last 20 years, his art has been largely an investigation of
change, loss, and memory, often addressing the subject of AIDS. Mr.
Bleckner uses symbolic imagery rather than direct representation, and
his work is visually elusive, with forms that constantly change focus.
While much of Bleckner's work can be divided into distinct groups or
series with motifs repeated from painting to painting, he is also in
the habit of redeploying and combining old motifs. Works by the artist
are held in collections around the world including Museum of Modern
Art, NY, Museum of Contemporary Art, LA, Astrup Fearnley Museet for
Moderne Kunst, Museo National Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, and the
Whitney Museum of American Art, NY.
In 1995, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum had a major retrospective of
his works from the last two decades of exhibitions at acclaimed
institutions such as San Francisco MoMA, Stockholm Moderna Museet, and
the Carnegie Museum of Art. Through his philanthropic efforts, Ross
Bleckner has enabled many community organizations to perform their
vital work. He is on the board of AIDS Community Research Initiative of
America (ACRIA), a non-profit community-based AIDS research and
treatment education center. He is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador
and lives in New York City and East Hampton, NY.
