Ross Bleckner, well-known for his large-scale canvases, has for years used watercolor as both a means and an end to painting. While Bleckners works in oil deal primarily with remembrance and lossoperating as memento mori to those lost in crisisthe watercolors are far more iconic, symbolic of transformation and transcendence. The watercolors, instructive in understanding the larger oil on canvas pictures, also possess a photographic qualitytheir brightness and shimmering surfaces attest to this artists mastery and technique. These precious gems hold up on their own as a major part of Bleckners oeuvre, yet they are relatively unknown. Beautifully reproduced, the sixty images selected here reveal the depth of Bleckners talent and the degree to which this work relates to the artists other paintings.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
Ross Bleckner's new book, Watercolor, includes sixty-one reproductions of paintings made between 1986 and 1996. There's an organic lushness to the work reminiscent of nebulous images of deep space. . . The paintings feel fraught with the randomness of experience. Bleckner intimates our inborn "rage for order," if only to keep arriving at the patterns reiterated in nature itself, as though to suggest that our own search for meaningful designs is an expression of some greater, unrevealed principle. -- Bookforum, Fall 1998
About the Author
My paintings function in a way that challenges what I believe in and dont believe in. I work out an interface: my paintings flirt with belief, both undermining it and establishing it. . . . In a way, I make them to test my own lack of faith. This is the opposite of what an abstract painter does; he always reiterates his faith. Essentially, I'm degrading the sublime.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Transformation and transcendence.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Ross Bleckner: Watercolor (Hardcover)
Ross Bleckner is one of the premier painters of our time. He has an unmistakable style and an often imitated yet rarely equaled talent for depicting light. Although well known for his gorgeous work in oils, this collection of watercolors is also impressive. The book is essentially a portfolio of small works created between 1986 and 1996. There is very little commentary. The succinct essay by Jose Luis Brea, translated from the Spanish, is poetic and obscure. There are no titles or descriptions listed for the work. I do not think that this omission detracts from the value and enjoyment of the book. Ross Bleckner is a painter in the purest sense. His work requires no explanation. Still, I would have appreciated a listing or chronology of the paintings. It could also have been made clear which of the paintings were complete and which were details. I have added this information as point of reference for those who obtain a copy sight unseen. The book is an elegant weight and size. There are 62 illustrations. Each painting, and what looks like a fair number of details, is presented as a full page color plate. In the watercolors, as compared to the power and sensuality of his oil paintings, we find a more delicate, playful treatment of organic forms in abstract compositions. The familiar juxtaposition of illumination and shadow is present. The photographic and luminescent quality of his work comes through in these stunning reproductions. The selection is diverse, spanning a period of 10 years. This is a must have edition for followers of Bleckner's work and a worthy addition to any collection of abstract art. It is certainly of interest to watercolorists, who will find inspiration in Bleckner's handling of the medium, and in his use of light and form.
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