b. 1949, United States

Ross Bleckner Artworks

Ross Bleckner's paintings when they referenced the AIDs epidemic brought him national recognition. As a gay man himself, Bleckner produced haunting artworks that poetically emphasised the community links and the enormous scale of the tragedy, but for him referenced the passing of specific friends and colleagues.

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Early examples that incorporate ominous medical information include: Small Count (1980), with white dots representing decreasing white blood cells; 8,122+ As of January 1986 (1986), with accurate sequential statistics of deaths painted in its corners, and Throbbing Hearts (1994), referencing the tell-tale marks of Kaposi's sarcoma.

However many of Bleckner's paintings also involve appropriated Op art abstraction. The glowing striped fields of works such as Brothers' Swords (1986) and Infatuation (1986—1987) comment in turn on the viewing body that is thinking about a particular body in crisis, or alluding to bars of a cage.

Often he incorporates symbolic plants, birds, lights or candelabras that while restlessly vertiginous, also evoke deep melancholy, bereavement, and profound loss. These are evident in works such as Bird Painting For Bid for Life (1995), Love and Lost (2020), and Memorial II (1994).

How Close or Distant by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner How Close or Distant, 2024 Oil on linen
156.4 x 156.4 x 7.5 cm
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A Year of Conquering Negative Thinking by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner A Year of Conquering Negative Thinking, 2021 Oil on canvas
182.9 x 182.9 cm
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Wishful Thinkers by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Wishful Thinkers, 2024 Oil on linen
152.4 x 152.4 cm
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Untitled by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Untitled, 2024 Oil on linen
76.2 x 76.2 x 4 cm
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Untitled by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Untitled, 2024 Oil on linen
152.6 x 152.6 x 4.5 cm
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Untitled by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Untitled, 2024 Oil on linen
76.2 x 76.2 x 4 cm
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Deep Below our Violence by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Deep Below our Violence, 2023 Oil on linen
183.2 x 244 x 5 cm
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Community by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Community, 2024 Oil on linen
152.4 x 152.4 cm
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A Day Doesn't Pass by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner A Day Doesn't Pass, 2024 Oil on linen
182.9 x 243.8 cm
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Untitled by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Untitled, 2024 Oil on linen
76.2 x 76.2 x 4 cm
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What is the Grass by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner What is the Grass, 2022 Oil on linen
183.2 x 244 x 5 cm
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Touch and Go by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Touch and Go, 2024 Oil on linen
182.9 x 152.4 cm
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Always Never Be by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Always Never Be, 2023 Oil on linen
213.4 x 152.4 cm
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Untitled by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Untitled, 2024 Oil on linen
76.2 x 76.2 cm
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Untitled by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Untitled, 2024 Oil on linen
76.2 x 76.2 x 4 cm
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Two Meet Again by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Two Meet Again, 2024 Oil on linen
213 x 152 cm
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untitled by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner untitled, 2023 Oil on linen
183 x 153 cm
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Protect Against by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Protect Against, 2021 Oil on linen
152.4 x 152.4 cm
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Untitled by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Untitled, 2017 Oil on linen
165 x 125 cm
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Chandelier by Ross Bleckner contemporary artwork painting
Ross Bleckner Chandelier, 1991 Oil on canvas
55 x 46 cm
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