biography
Barbara Bloom was born in Los Angeles in 1951. She lives and works in New York.
Through photography, installation, film and books, Bloom explores notions of museology, design, collecting, taste and our investment in the objects we surround ourselves with. Her gaze does not focus on single items or images, but rather on the relationships between these objects, and the inherent meaning carried by their positioning and juxtaposition. Though enthusiastically visual, Bloom’s practice is rooted more in the traditional act of literary production rather than that of painting or sculpture making.
She has often compared herself—and the viewer of her work—to a detective, who is confronted with disparate clues and is asked to form a visual narrative. Her seductive use of shadows, traces, Braille, broken objects and watermarks, all demonstrate an unwavering interest in visualizing the fragile workings of memory, the ephemeral, and the absent—invisible presences activated by our gaze.
Barbara Bloom was born in Los Angeles in 1951. She lives and works in New York.
Through photography, installation, film and books, Bloom explores notions of museology, design, collecting, taste and our investment in the objects we surround ourselves with. Her gaze does not focus on single items or images, but rather on the relationships between these objects, and the inherent meaning carried by their positioning and juxtaposition. Though enthusiastically visual, Bloom’s practice is rooted more in the traditional act of literary production rather than that of painting or sculpture making.
She has often compared herself—and the viewer of her work—to a detective, who is confronted with disparate clues and is asked to form a visual narrative. Her seductive use of shadows, traces, Braille, broken objects and watermarks, all demonstrate an unwavering interest in visualizing the fragile workings of memory, the ephemeral, and the absent—invisible presences activated by our gaze.
Bloom’s solo exhibitions include: The Rendering (H X W X D =), Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, Cleveland (2018); Two Artists Books by Barbara Bloom with Susan Tallman, Fleming Museum of Art, University of Vermont, Burlington (2017); The Weather, Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milan (2016); Barbara Bloom: Framing Wall, Museum of Modern Art, New York (2015); As it were... so to speak, Jewish Museum, New York (2013); The Collections of Barbara Bloom, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2008); Absence-Presence, Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena (2007); Never Odd or Even, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (1992); The Reign of Narcissism, Serpentine Gallery, London (1990); The Gaze, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1985).
Her work has been included in group exhibitions at: ThisPlay, Arter, Istanbul (2022); Wagnis der Öffentlichkeit, Halle für Kunst, Lüneburg, Germany (2020); The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield (2019); The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. and MoCA Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles (2018); Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2017); BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts, Bruxelles (2016); Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2015); Pérez Art Museum, Miami (2015); Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen (2014); Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, Venice (2011); Palais the Tokyo, Paris (2010); De Appel, Amsterdam (2009); Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur (2008); Duolon Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai (2005); Kunsthaus Graz, Graz (2004); Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, New York (2004); Museum Fridericianum, Kassel (1999); Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago (1998); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1996); SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe (1995); MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art, Vienna (1994); Fundacion Caja de Pensiones, Madrid (1992); The Israel Museum, Jerusalem (1990); The New Museum, New York (1988); Secession, Vienna (1982); Westkunst, Museen der Stadt, Cologne (1981).
gallery exhibitions
In Full Bloom
may 12 – july 30, 2010
via a. stradella 7, brown project space, kaleidoscope, luigi presicce studio
images
The Tip of the Iceberg
The Weather

Under a sky of flawless blue. (Gide), 2015
Hand tufted woollen carpet with carved Braille text
274,3 × 182,88 cm

It had begun to snow again. (Joyce), 2015
Hand tufted woollen carpet with carved Braille text
274,3 × 182,88 cm
Works for the Blind

Works for the Blind: Consider that things…, 1988
Offset/digital litography and Braille on paper, mounted beneath cut Plexiglass
81,28 × 60,96 cm framed
Envy

Envy II (From The Seven Deadly Sins), 1987/2017
Installation view at Art Basel | Feature, Messe Basel, 2017
Mixed media construction: two Fauteuils, litograph, mirror, linen handkerchief
Two chairs 98 x 57 cm each, one oval framed mirror 40,64 x 50,8 cm, one oval framed image covered with plexiglass 40,64 x 50,8 cm, one embroidered linen handkerchief, one wooden pedestal 150 x 87 x 8 cm
Photo: Sebastiano Pellion di Persano

Envy II (From The Seven Deadly Sins), 1987/2017
Installation view at Art Basel | Feature, Messe Basel, 2017
Mixed media construction: two Fauteuils, litograph, mirror, linen handkerchief
Two chairs 98 x 57 cm each, one oval framed mirror 40,64 x 50,8 cm, one oval framed image covered with plexiglass 40,64 x 50,8 cm, one embroidered linen handkerchief, one wooden pedestal 150 x 87 x 8 cm
Photo: Sebastiano Pellion di Persano
The Gaze
Carpets
Broken

Broken (Pitcher), 2001
Broken celadon object, box with computer-generated paper,Xray of object framed with back lighting
30,48 × 40,64 cm frame; overall dimensions variable
Balance

Balance #2 (Blue Head Balance), 2001
Iris print in colored matte with broken glass embedded in Plexiglass
104 × 79 × 5 cm framed

Preadolescent Girl Horse Art (Black Beauty) I, 1995
C-print and graphite on matte board, silk scarf
69,22 × 89,54 cm frame; 132,08 x 89,54 x 71,12 cm approximate overall dimensions
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri

Arno Light, 2007
Framed C-print, framed mirror and chandelier
94,3 × 64,8 × 2,5 cm 2 frames, each; chandelier: approx 57,15 in diameter

Arno Light, 2007
Framed C-print, framed mirror and chandelier
94,3 × 64,8 × 2,5 cm 2 frames, each; chandelier: approx 57,15 in diameter

The Complete Works of Barbara Bloom, 1989
Installation view of Décor: Barbara Bloom, Andrea Fraser, Louise Lawler, April 28–July 15, 2018 at MOCA Pacific Design Center, courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, photo by Zak Kelley
Plexi display case, wood table and 38 books
Table: 40,64 x 121,92 x 101,6 cm; Plexi vitrine: 106,68 x 30,48 x 101,6 cm
public exhibitions
publications
video
Dia Talks – Barbara Bloom in Conversation with Kelly Kivland
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
