Jerry Bleem
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1954, Red Bud, Illinois
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, New Mexico
Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas
Bernheim Foundation, Clermont, Kentucky
Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006 Contemporary Baskets, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Jerry Bleem: Parallel, Aron Packer Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
The Body in Fiber, Tarble Arts Center, Charleston, Illinois
Basket (R)evolution, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Massachusetts
5th International Fiber Biennial, Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Basketry: Northwest Connections, Tacoma Community College, Tacoma, Washington
Material Difference, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois
Works With Paper: Artists’ Books, University Art Gallery, The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee
Traversing Fibers, El Centro College, Dallas, Texas
2005 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; traveling
Magnificent Extravagance: Artists and Opulence, Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
Bernheim Art Fellow Reunion Exhibit, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, Clermont, Kentucky
Enclosed Within, Penland Gallery, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina
All Things Considered, North Lake Tahoe Art Center, Tahoe City, California
Space and Spirit: Artistic Interpretations of Sacred Place, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman Collection, Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona
2004 Jerry Bleem: Piecemeal, one-person show, Aron Packer Gallery, Chicago, IL
Jerry Bleem: Meditated Offerings, Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, IN
Fiberart International, Society for Contemporary Craft and Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
Eternal Light: Hors de Concours, Spertus Museum, Chicago, IL
Repeat, Repeat: Four Contemporary Textile Artists, Gallery of Design, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Threads: Tradition and Inquiry, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, IA
2003 At the Edge of the Field: contemporary Basketry in America, Northern Michigan University Art Museum, Marquette, MI
Transcending Process: Contemporary Fiber, Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
2002 Jerry Bleem: Incremental Meditations, one-person show, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
Biennial, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN
Baskets Now: USA, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Face of Fiber, Barrington Area Arts Council Gallery, Barrington, IL
National Summer Faculty Invitational, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Gimme Shelter, Florida Craftsmen Inc., St. Petersburg, FL
2001-02 Contemporary Baskets, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001 Abstraction: The Power of Memory, Christians in the Visual Arts, touring
Contemporary Baskets: Innovations in Basketry, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Great Falls, MT
Fiberart International 2001, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
2000 Transit, One Person Show, Baylor University Art Gallery, Waco, TX
Inventions and Constructions: New Baskets, Florida Craftsmen, St. Petersburg, FL
Material Evidence, Reed Whipple Cultural Center, Las Vegas, NV
Way Beyond 101: Contemporary Baskets, Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Hamilton, OH
1999-2000 National Summer Faculty Invitational, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
1999 Men of the Cloth, Loveland Museum/Gallery, Loveland, CO
Fantastic Fibers, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
Art of Home and Farm, Ohio State University Gallery, Newark, OH
Crafts National 33, Zoller Gallery, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
The Object: Of Sculpture, Wright State University Art Galleries, Dayton, OH
1998 Jerry Bleem: Something Inside of Me, One Person Show, Roswell
Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM
From Limb to Limb, Illinois State Museum, Lockport Gallery, Lockport,IL
In Flex/In Flux: An Alumni Sculpture Exhibition, The School of the Art
Institute of Chicago Alumni Association, Chicago, IL
1997 Ordinary/Extraordinary: Sculpture by Jerry Bleem, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN
One Person Show, Morton College, Cicero, IL
1996 Fiber ‘96, Textile Arts Centre, Chicago, IL
Evanston & Vicinity, 13th Biennial Exhibition, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL
The 1996 Regional Artists’ Biennial, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN
Baskets: Structuring Space, Empty and Enclosed, Bingham Gallery, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
Quad-State Juried Exhibition, The Quincy Art Center, Quincy, IL
Textiles ‘96: A Regional Invitational, Ford Gallery, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
1995 Fiber as Sculpture, Parkland College Art Gallery, Champaign, IL
Exploring Along the Outer Edges, Craft Alliance Gallery, St. Louis, MO
1994 Alice and Arthur Baer Competition, Beverly Art Center, Chicago, IL
Jerry Bleem and Mark Newport, The Museum for Textiles, Toronto, Canada
Stateline Vicinity Show, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
Dakotas International, The University of South Dakota Art Galleries, Vermillion, SD
1993 Of Hand, Of Heart, Of Mind, Quincy Art Center, Quincy, IL
Content/Container, Textile Arts Centre, Chicago, IL
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2006 500 Baskets, Lark Books, Asheville, NC
2005 "Devoted to Art and Truth", Jesse Howard and Roger Brown: Now Read On, exhibition catalog, University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO
2004 "Beautiful Patterns", The Capital Times, Madison WI
2003 "Incremental Meditations: Works by Jerry Bleem", Surface Design Journal, fall, pp. 52-3
ABOUT THE ARTIST
From a distance, Jerry Bleem's baskets are elegant, curved shapes. Possessing various degrees of formal complexity, these works sit quietly, Zen-like, and as the viewer approaches, gradually reveal their elaborate surfaces. At first appearing stitched and tactile, when the steel staples are recognized as the mark-making device, the sculptures turn from soft to prickly. In effect, Bleem creates a skin that defines inside and outside space. These forms are executed without relying upon any kind of armature; staples are the only adhesives used.
The densely stapled materials gradually reveal themselves. Bleem uses a variety of found materials including fish scales, maps and blueprints. Rarely valuable, sometimes transformed and always cut into small pieces that allow the artist to negotiate a variety of bends and twists, these connected and embellished bits document a slightly unnerving aggression. Openings of various sizes invite visual or imagined exploration of the
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, New Mexico
Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas
Bernheim Foundation, Clermont, Kentucky
Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006 Contemporary Baskets, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Jerry Bleem: Parallel, Aron Packer Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
The Body in Fiber, Tarble Arts Center, Charleston, Illinois
Basket (R)evolution, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Massachusetts
5th International Fiber Biennial, Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Basketry: Northwest Connections, Tacoma Community College, Tacoma, Washington
Material Difference, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois
Works With Paper: Artists’ Books, University Art Gallery, The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee
Traversing Fibers, El Centro College, Dallas, Texas
2005 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; traveling
Magnificent Extravagance: Artists and Opulence, Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
Bernheim Art Fellow Reunion Exhibit, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, Clermont, Kentucky
Enclosed Within, Penland Gallery, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina
All Things Considered, North Lake Tahoe Art Center, Tahoe City, California
Space and Spirit: Artistic Interpretations of Sacred Place, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman Collection, Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona
2004 Jerry Bleem: Piecemeal, one-person show, Aron Packer Gallery, Chicago, IL
Jerry Bleem: Meditated Offerings, Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, IN
Fiberart International, Society for Contemporary Craft and Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
Eternal Light: Hors de Concours, Spertus Museum, Chicago, IL
Repeat, Repeat: Four Contemporary Textile Artists, Gallery of Design, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Threads: Tradition and Inquiry, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, IA
2003 At the Edge of the Field: contemporary Basketry in America, Northern Michigan University Art Museum, Marquette, MI
Transcending Process: Contemporary Fiber, Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
2002 Jerry Bleem: Incremental Meditations, one-person show, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
Biennial, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN
Baskets Now: USA, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Face of Fiber, Barrington Area Arts Council Gallery, Barrington, IL
National Summer Faculty Invitational, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Gimme Shelter, Florida Craftsmen Inc., St. Petersburg, FL
2001-02 Contemporary Baskets, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001 Abstraction: The Power of Memory, Christians in the Visual Arts, touring
Contemporary Baskets: Innovations in Basketry, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Great Falls, MT
Fiberart International 2001, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
2000 Transit, One Person Show, Baylor University Art Gallery, Waco, TX
Inventions and Constructions: New Baskets, Florida Craftsmen, St. Petersburg, FL
Material Evidence, Reed Whipple Cultural Center, Las Vegas, NV
Way Beyond 101: Contemporary Baskets, Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Hamilton, OH
1999-2000 National Summer Faculty Invitational, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
1999 Men of the Cloth, Loveland Museum/Gallery, Loveland, CO
Fantastic Fibers, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
Art of Home and Farm, Ohio State University Gallery, Newark, OH
Crafts National 33, Zoller Gallery, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
The Object: Of Sculpture, Wright State University Art Galleries, Dayton, OH
1998 Jerry Bleem: Something Inside of Me, One Person Show, Roswell
Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM
From Limb to Limb, Illinois State Museum, Lockport Gallery, Lockport,IL
In Flex/In Flux: An Alumni Sculpture Exhibition, The School of the Art
Institute of Chicago Alumni Association, Chicago, IL
1997 Ordinary/Extraordinary: Sculpture by Jerry Bleem, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN
One Person Show, Morton College, Cicero, IL
1996 Fiber ‘96, Textile Arts Centre, Chicago, IL
Evanston & Vicinity, 13th Biennial Exhibition, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL
The 1996 Regional Artists’ Biennial, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN
Baskets: Structuring Space, Empty and Enclosed, Bingham Gallery, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
Quad-State Juried Exhibition, The Quincy Art Center, Quincy, IL
Textiles ‘96: A Regional Invitational, Ford Gallery, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
1995 Fiber as Sculpture, Parkland College Art Gallery, Champaign, IL
Exploring Along the Outer Edges, Craft Alliance Gallery, St. Louis, MO
1994 Alice and Arthur Baer Competition, Beverly Art Center, Chicago, IL
Jerry Bleem and Mark Newport, The Museum for Textiles, Toronto, Canada
Stateline Vicinity Show, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
Dakotas International, The University of South Dakota Art Galleries, Vermillion, SD
1993 Of Hand, Of Heart, Of Mind, Quincy Art Center, Quincy, IL
Content/Container, Textile Arts Centre, Chicago, IL
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2006 500 Baskets, Lark Books, Asheville, NC
2005 "Devoted to Art and Truth", Jesse Howard and Roger Brown: Now Read On, exhibition catalog, University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO
2004 "Beautiful Patterns", The Capital Times, Madison WI
2003 "Incremental Meditations: Works by Jerry Bleem", Surface Design Journal, fall, pp. 52-3
ABOUT THE ARTIST
From a distance, Jerry Bleem's baskets are elegant, curved shapes. Possessing various degrees of formal complexity, these works sit quietly, Zen-like, and as the viewer approaches, gradually reveal their elaborate surfaces. At first appearing stitched and tactile, when the steel staples are recognized as the mark-making device, the sculptures turn from soft to prickly. In effect, Bleem creates a skin that defines inside and outside space. These forms are executed without relying upon any kind of armature; staples are the only adhesives used.
The densely stapled materials gradually reveal themselves. Bleem uses a variety of found materials including fish scales, maps and blueprints. Rarely valuable, sometimes transformed and always cut into small pieces that allow the artist to negotiate a variety of bends and twists, these connected and embellished bits document a slightly unnerving aggression. Openings of various sizes invite visual or imagined exploration of the