When I was a girl I fell in love with darkness.The tools I work with-pen, ink, clayboard-became natural choices for someone drawn to observe and record the world in close detail, and tools best to orchestrate the balance between opposing forces; light, dark; intimate, huge; static, moving. Through the exploration of opposites, narrative imagery and carving into earth's clay; a celebration of the interconnectedness of all living things is captured through linear motion and relief texture. I am drawn to the affinity with wood engravings, evoking references to former artistic traditions and styles. My imagery is thus layered with this synthesis of contrasts both personal and historic.
Cathie Bleckresiding in Cleveland Heights, OH for the past twenty years started her successful career as an artist in Chicago, where she was raised as one of nine children in a family of artists on her grandfather's tree farm. She graduated from University of Illinois after studying painting and design. Subsequent moves brought her to New York City, San Francisco, Dallas and England. Bleck worked as a successful, internationally respected illustrator prior to publishing of a monograph of her artwork called “Open Spaces” in 2006, which quickly launched her career into the gallery world. Solo exhibitions followed in Chicago, Cleveland, and New York City as well as two museum shows in 2008. Bleck attracted The New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT who offered her a mid career retrospective for four months. Following this exhibition, The Butler Museum in Youngstown, OH extended her solo exhibition of New Works entitled "Becoming Human". Bleck continues to grow as artist, exploring scale, surface and subject matter in her passionate form of storytelling built from light - dark rhythms. Throughout her career, numerous international commissions underline the importance of Bleck’s work. In 2007 Cathie Bleck was awarded the prestigious honor of designing, in her clay-board technique, the U.S. State Department’s Earth Day Image. Other commissions include Sony Records, Time, Esquire, New York Times, LA Times, Warner Bros., Random House, Simon & Schuster, U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Forest Service, Martha Stewart Living, Poetry magazine and many other publications. Bleck has also lectured internationally, been profiled in several leading art and design magazines, conducted workshops, written interviews on artists for major arts magazines and has appeared in over 50 exhibitions throughout the world. Bleck's work can be viewed at Yves LaRoche Gallery in Montreal, Meta Gallery in Toronto and Enid Lawson Gallery in London, England.
Bibliography
Education
1978 BFA, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, studied under painter Edward Betts, Chicago designer Carl Rehger and woodcut artist and designer Tom Kovacs 1981 Oxbow Workshop, The Art Institute of Chicago
Museum solo exhibitions
2008 Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH: Sept14-Nov 7 2008 New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT: Feb 8-April 27
Gallery solo exhibitions
2009 "Undercurrents" Billy Shire Fine Arts, Los Angelos 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" : Cleveland Heights Arts Collaborative, Cleveland, OH 2006 "Open Spaces" : I Space Gallery, University of Illinois at C-U Chicago Gallery, Exhibition + Book Launch, Chicago, IL
Museum Group exhibitions
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 1994-2010 Museum of American Illustration at The Society of Illustrator's 2001Centro Cultural Recoleta, “Nine Artists from Ohio”, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Selected Group exhibitions
2010 Pratt Manhattan Graduate School, NY 2010 "Manifest Equality", Los Angeles, CA 2009 Aqua Wynwood : Art Basel curated by Mark Murphy, FL 2009 "Movers and Shakers" POVevolving Gallery, LA 2009 Red Dot Silent Auction, curated by Mark Murphy, San Diego, CA 2009 "Scribble 8 : Planet Illogica during Comicon, curated by Mark Murphy, San Diego, CA 2009 "Sea No Evil" Exhibition fundraiser for Sea Sheperd Marine Conservation, Curated by Jeff Soto 2008 “Influence” with Cleveland School painters: Tom Balbo, William Sommer + Paul Travis at Metropolitan Galleries, Cleveland, OH 2008 Gen Art Vanguard : Art Basel : "Know Show" 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 Know Exhibition + Art Books, Art Now Fair : Art Basel, Miami, FL 2007 SILA show Billy Shire Fine Art Gallery, Los Angelos, CA 2006 "The Ripple Effect" Parsons, The New School, New York, NY 2006 Picture Mechanics ZeitgeistGallery, 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 Beck Center Cleveland Artists Foundation, Cleveland, OH 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 Report", The Carter Center, Atlanta, GA
Lectures
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
Awards
2005 Gold Medal, Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators, NY
Collections
Partial list: 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, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Honeywell Corporation, Bauerlien Steel, UCLA, Cypress Funds, Chicago Tribune, St. Louis University, Zygote Press, Art Toy Museum-CA, Martha Stewart, and many private collections.
Featured publications/television interviews
-Fairfield, Douglas, "Santa Fe New Mexican" Pasatiemo Arts Magazine, "All's Fairey in national politics" November 19, 2009 -Escape into Life : Featured artist watch : www.escapeintolife, November 4, 2009 -Poetry Foundation, Fred Sasaki : Harriet the Blog, "Transformations", September 30, 2009 -FlavorPill featured artist August 2009 -Juxtapoz Magazine, March 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 -Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 19, 2008, Evelyn Theiss, Arts Section “Artist Cathie Bleck tells stories with powerful works” -Chicago Tribune, November 2, 2008, Teri Colby, Travel Section: Midwest Events with image featured from The Butler. -Northern Ohio Live, October, 2008, Brooke Willis, Art Exhibits:“Flora, Fauna and Fantasy”, review The Butler Show -CT Central.com, September 02, 2007, Judy Birke, "Picture of Health" group show Florence Griswold Museum, mention -Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 27, 2007, Steven Litt, Review of Heights Arts at the Library exhibition "Open Spaces: Cleveland", "Strong photos, shapely forms" -Applause Television show, WVIZ-PBS Cleveland, half hour segment interview with Dee Perry -Communication Arts Magazine, June/July 2007, Book Review, RH, "Open Spaces: Chicago" -Chicago Tribune, August 18, 2006, "On The Town", Featured artwork "Mother Nature's Son Three" I Space gallery by Doug George -Chicago Reader, August 5, 2006, Featured artwork "When We Became Human" Friday section -Artscope.net, September 5, 2006, Katherine R. Lieber, Review of "Open Spaces: Chicago" I Space Gallery -Time Out Chicago, August 24-30, 2007, Issue No. 78, Ruth Lopez, "Scratching the Surface" feature article on "Open Spaces: Chicago" I Space Gallery -London Times, January 28, 2006, Rebecca O'Conner, "What's It Worth" mention and featured artwork "Bottle Man" from Art on Paper show
Profiles:
-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 -3x3, The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration, Vol 3