Raffaella Cortese is pleased to present the second solo show by Barbara Bloom.
Barbara Bloom’s interests turn toward the ways in which we individually and collectively bestow meaning and value on objects. In her latest works for “PRESENT” she continues this exploration, focusing on the realm of gifts. Bloom asks us to note the similarities and differences in the acts of giving and receiving gifts, and the practices of showing and apprehending art.
Most anthropological and theoretical writing on gift exchange discuss the giving, receiving and returning of gifts. These acts, steeped in bonds between the people, can be understood as moral, economic, political, kinship-oriented, legal, mythological, religious, magical, practical, personal and social. The gift is seen as more than a simple commodity or memento changing hands, it metonymically (as part for whole) stands for every aspect of the society it is a part of.
Installation views
