Artist statement
“When I was a girl I fell in love with darkness. The tools I work with-pen, ink, knives and clay-became natural choices for someone drawn to observe and record the world in close detail. My art explores the space and tension between opposing forces. These forces in our lives can be profoundly good or extraordinarily bad. I don’t see darkness as a place of fear, rather choosing to associate it with a sense of risk and excitement.
I see and feel the most important part of being human as those moments when we have the courage to be reborn, rise up and overcome adversity. What I find myself drawn to in art is depicting these exploring moments of transformation. Not the condition before or after, but the state when something happens and we are moving through our lives. That is the point in time when we experience courage, love and transcendence. This ‘movement’ of life is a culmination of many pieces which fit together in a complex puzzle that shifts a little here and there, morphing over time. My intent is to interpret this outcome by utilizing interconnected forms, intense contrasts of tone and imagery, emphasizing the necessity for all species to maintain an equilibrium in a world of constant change.”
Education
1978 BFA, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, studied under Edward Betts, Carl Rehger and Tom Kovacs
1981 Oxbow Workshop, The Art Institute of Chicago
Museum solo exhibitions
2008 Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH: Sept14-Nov 7 (show extended)
2008 New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT: Feb 8-May 3 (show extended)
Museum Group exhibitions
2011 “WomenArtists@NewBritain”, New Britain Museum of American Art, CT
2011 “Picturing Health”, El Paso Museum of American Art, TX
2009 Japanese American National Museum, Kokeshi Show, LA
2008 “Picturing Health”, Kalamazoo Institute of Art, MI
2007 Associazione Culturale Teatrio, “43 Woman Illustrator’s Worldwide”, Egg’s Castle, Naples, Italy
2007 “Picturing Health”, Florence Griswald Museum, Old Lyme, CT
2007 “Picturing Health”, Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA
2006 Associazione Culturale Teatrio, “43 Woman Illustrator’s Worldwide”, Villa Poniatowski, Rome, Italy
2004 Santa Monica Museum, “Dialog”, CA
2001 Centro Cultural Recoleta, “Nine Artists from Ohio”, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Gallery solo exhibition
2019 May 18-June 22 “Immersion” Bert Green Fine Art,
Chicago, Curated by Alix Sloan of AlixSloanFineArt
2016 “Histories in Black and White” Shaker Historical Society, OH
2015 “Avance” Firecat Projects, Chicago
2013 “frAGILITY” New Works on Papyrus, Packer Schopf Gallery, Chicago
2009 “Undercurrents” Billy Shire Fine Arts, Los Angeles
2009 “Aqua Regia” Meta Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2007 “Time Lines” Intown Club, Cleveland, OH
2007 “Elemental Stories” Durst Organization at Conde Nast, NY
2007 “Elemental Stories” 1155 Avenue of the Americas Gallery, NY
2006 “Open Spaces” : Heights Arts, Cleveland, OH
2006 “Open Spaces” : I Space Gallery, University of Illinois at C-U Chicago, Exhibition + Book Launch, Chicago, IL
Two person exhibitions
2014 “Rarely Home” with Amy Casey, Maria Neil Art Project, Cleveland, OH
Selected Group exhibitions
2020 LA : BLAB, curated by Monte Beauchamp, Copro Gallery, LA
2020 Chicago : Woman Made Gallery, “Process and Material” Curated/Juried by Yoonshin Park
2018 Springfield Art Museum, OH “Art 360” Curated Ohio Artists Ostrich Egg Exhibition
2017 Columbus Cultural Center, Curated Exhibition of Ohio Artists
2016 Massilon Art Museum, “Art 360” Curated Ohio Artists Ostrich Egg Exhibition
2016 Columbus Museum of Art, “Art 360” Curated Ohio Artists Ostrich Egg Exhibition
2016 Southern Ohio Museum, “Art 360” Curated Ohio Artists Ostrich Exhibition
2016 “Art 360” Columbus Art Museum, OH
2015 “Asymetrical Diptych” Corey Helford Gallery, LA
2015 “Your Pencilled Masses, Yearning to be Free” Corey Helford Gallery, LA
2015 BLAB, curated by Monte Beauchamp, Copro Gallery, LA
2015 “Histories in Black and White” Lissauer Gallery, Shaker Heights, OH
2014 Egregore’, Yves La Roche Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
2014 Ampersand’s 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Austin, TX
2014 BLAB, curated by Monte Beauchamp with hard cover catalog, Copro Gallery, LA
2014 “FILTERED”, Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
2013 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2012 Ursaline College Wasmer Art Gallery, 15 Women Artist’s Northeast Ohio, OH
2012 BLAB, curated by Monte Beauchamp with hard cover catalog, Copro Gallery, LA
2012 “Juxtapoz Turns 18”, Curated by Gwyneth Vitello and Greg Escalante, Copro Gallery, LA
2011 25th Anniversary Exhibition Billy Shire Galleries, LA
2011 “After Life”, BLAB exhibition, Copro Gallery, CA
2011 “15 Women artists in NE Ohio”, Convivium 33 Gallery, Cleveland, OH
2011-2012 “Monumental Miniature Books II”, International traveling exhibition
2010 San Diego Contemporary Art Fair, CA, curated by Mark Murphy, San Diego, CA
2010 “Phantasmagoria”, Meta Gallery, Toronto
2010 New Hampshire Institute of Art, Amhurst Gallery, Manchester, NH
2010 “Sea No Evil” Exhibition fundraiser for Sea Sheperd Marine Conservation
2010 Pratt Manhattan Graduate School, NY
2010 “Manifest Equality”, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Aqua Wynwood : Art Basel curated by Mark Murphy, FL
2009 “Scribble 8” curated by Mark Murphy, San Diego, CA
2009 “Sea No Evil” Sea Shepard Marine Conservation, Curated by Jeff Soto
2008 “Influence” with Tom Balbo, William Sommer + Paul Travis at Metropolitan Galleries, Cleveland, OH
2008 Gen Art Vanguard : Art Basel : curated by Mark Murphy, Miami, FL
2008 “Manifest Hope” Democratic convention, Invited artist, Denver, CO
2008 “Mapmakers” Meta Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2007 “Green” Robert Berman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2007 Art Now Fair : Art Basel : curated by Mark Murphy, Miami, FL
2007 SILA, Billy Shire Fine Art Gallery, Los Angelos, CA
2006 “The Ripple Effect” Parsons, The New School, New York, NY
2006 Picture Mechanics Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN
2006 Art on Paper, Enid Lawson Gallery, Royal College of Art, London
2004 PictureMechanics Mmodern Gallery, Palm Springs, CA
2003 PictureMechanics Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN
2003 “Heaven and Hell” Philadelphia Sketch Club Philadelphia, PA
2000 American Greetings Corporation, “Three Artist’s from Ohio”, Cleveland, OH
2002 “Prevailing Human Spirit” United Nations, New York, NY
1993 “World Conflict”, The Carter Center, Atlanta, GA
Awards/Residencies
2015 Selected for MOCA Cleveland Studio Visit with Adam Lerner, curator MOCA Denver
2014 Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Illinois C-U College of Art & Design
2013 Cleveland Institute of Art, Stone Lithography Artist Residency, Cleveland, OH
2011 “Art Therapy Studios” Artist residency at Metro hospital, Cleveland, OH
2010 “8 Hour Projects”, Allegheny College, PA
2005 Gold Medal, Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators, NY
Lectures
2015 Kent State, OH
2014 California College of Art and Design, CA
2013 Kent State, OH
2012 Ursaline College, OH
2010 Pratt Manhattan Graduate School, NY
2009 Art Institute of Chicago, IL
2009 Sheridan College, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
2008 Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, PA
2008 New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT
2007 Intown Club, OH
2006 I Space Gallery of University of Illinois, C-U at Chicago, IL
2007 Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA.
2007 Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2007 Otis Parsons, Los Angeles, CA
2007 College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI
2004 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
2004 University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
2003 The Illustration Conference ICON3, Philadelphia, PA
2002 American Institute of Graphic Arts, Austin, TX
2002 Belmont University, Nashville, TN
2001 The Illustration Conference ICON2, Santa Fe, NM
2001 American Institute of Graphic Arts, San Diego Y Conference, CA
2000 University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2000 American Institute of Graphic Arts, Seattle, WA
1999 The Illustration Conference ICON1, Santa Fe, NM
1999 Art Center Dayton, OH
1997 San Jose State University, CA
1993 American Institute of Graphic Arts, Cleveland, OH
1991 Northern Illinois University, IL
Collections
Partial list: Victoria & Albert Museum, The Butler Institute of American Art, The New Britain Museum of American Art, The Library of Congress, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland Art Association, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Honeywell Corporation, Bauerlien Steel, UCLA, Cypress Funds, Chicago Tribune, St. Louis University, Zygote Press, Art Toy Museum-CA and private collections of Martha Stewart, Henry Adams, Marianne Berardi, Milton Glaser, Brandi Carlisle
Selected Commissions
World Wildlife Fund, U.S. Postal Service, U.S. State Dept. Earth Day Image 2007 and World Ocean Day Image 2012, Sony Records, Motown Records, Time, New York Times, New Republic, Esquire, Atlantic, Martha Stewart, Oprah, Warner Bros. Records, Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, Abrams, Simon & Schuster, Knopf, Harper, Doubleday, Random, Knopf, Sterling, National Geographic, Habitat for Humanity, National Institute of Health, The Lila Wallace Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Alan Guttmacher Foundation, National Forest Service, Poetry Foundation, The Carter Foundation, UPS, Federal Express, Tetley, Good Earth Teas
Featured publications/television interviews
-2015 Juxtapoz Blog, “Avance” Exhibition at Firecat Projects, Chicago August-September 19, 2015
-2015 Hi Fructose Magazine, “Cathie Bleck Celebrates Nature with Works on Scratchboard” by Nastia Voynovskaya
-2015 My Modern Met “Artist Scratches Away Pigments to Reveal Spectacular Scenes Celebrating Nature”
-2015 USPS Featuring four US postage stamps
-2014 Juxtapoz Blog : Cathie Bleck & Amy Casey “Rarely Home” @ Maria Neil
-2014 Light Seeing Eyes Feature Interview
-2014 Escape Into Life : Featured Artist
-2013 Taschen Books, Collectable edition, 100 Illustrators with linen slipcase, international selection published four continents
-2012 Juxtapoz Magazine/August 2012/Interview by Gwyneth Vitello, president and publisher of Juxtapoz
-2011 Taschen Illustration NOW 3, 2010, Profile and Selected intro double page spread
-2009 Cathie Bleck Interview, Mark Murphy Blog
-2009 Fairfield, Douglas, “Santa Fe New Mexican” Pasatiemo Arts Magazine, “All’s Fairey in national politics”
-2009 Escape into Life : Artist-Watch, Cathie Bleck : www.escapeintolife, November 4, 2009
-2009 Poetry Foundation, Fred Sasaki : Harriet the Blog, “Transformations” Cathie Bleck, September 30, 2009
-2009 FlavorPill Cathie Bleck feature August 2009
-2009 Juxtapoz Magazine, March 2009
-2009 Cleveland Free Times, Scene Magazine, January 20, 2009, Michael Gill “Art we can believe in” featured artist Manifest Exhibition at the 2008 Democratic convention, Denver, CO
-2008 Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 19, 2008, Evelyn Theiss, Arts Section “Artist Cathie Bleck tells stories with powerful works”
-2008 Chicago Tribune, November 2, 2008, Teri Colby, Travel Section: Midwest Events with image featured from The Butler.
-2008 Northern Ohio Live, October, 2008, Brooke Willis, Art Exhibits:“Flora, Fauna and Fantasy”, review The Butler Show
-2007 CT Central.com, September 02, 2007, Judy Birke, “Picture of Health” group show Florence Griswold Museum, mention
-2007 Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 27, 2007, Steven Litt, Review of Heights Arts at the Library exhibition “Open Spaces: Cleveland”, “Strong photos, shapely forms”
-2007 Applause Television show, WVIZ-PBS Cleveland, half hour segment interview with Dee Perry
-2007 Communication Arts Magazine, June/July 2007, Book Review, RH, “Open Spaces: Chicago”
-2006 Chicago Tribune, 8/18/2006, “On The Town”Featured artwork “Mother Nature’s Son Three” I Space gallery by Doug George
-2006 Chicago Reader, August 5, 2006, Featured artwork “When We Became Human” Friday section
-2006 Artscope.net, September 5, 2006, Katherine R. Lieber, Review of “Open Spaces: Chicago” I Space Gallery
-2006 Time Out Chicago, August 24-30, Issue No. 78, Ruth Lopez, “Scratching the Surface” feature article on “Open Spaces: Chicago” I Space Gallery
-2006 London Times, January 28, 2006, Rebecca O’Conner, “What’s It Worth” mention and featured artwork “Bottle Man” from Art on Paper show
Selected Profiles:
-Taschen Books, Collectable edition, 100 Illustrators with linen slipcase, international selection, 2013
-Juxtapoz Magazine/August 2012/Interview by Gwyneth Vitello, president and publisher of Juxtapoz
-Taschen Illustration NOW 3, 2010, Profile and Selected intro double page spread
-Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper/Arts Section/Dec 2008/ by Evelyn Theiss
-Communication Arts Magazine/September/October 1999 issue/profile of career
-Step In Design Magazine/Premiere redesign July/August 2002 issue/sketchbooks
-3×3, The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration, Vol 3