Miriam Bloom’s Dieu Donné residency work is representative of her sculptural works using handmade paper over armature. Bloom explored ways to apply handmade paper to her mixed-media sculptures. The paper was both applied in newly formed sheets and in pulp form to the armatures. Miriam worked in both solid colors and in multi-colored, deckle box sheets.
She spent the sixteen years prior to her residency working in clay and only more recently has she begun to apply those skills to working in paper. The artist has been consistently interested in the conflation of shapes that derive from a wide range of sources including human anatomy, spirituality, kid’s cartons, and Japanese anime. As a result, her sculptures are open to many interpretations, which is a universalizing aim in her work. Her object-like biomorphic forms can be seen as anything from microbial to minimalist. This particular sculpture is a top-heavy illusion, mixing Disney and Brancusi elements with East Asian contemplation. Sitting like Buddha on a satellite cloud, it balances on a yin and yang of form and funk.
Born in Denver Colorado, Miriam Bloom received a BA from Brandeis University and a MA and MFA from University of Iowa. She now lives and works in New York City.
Workspace Program artist-in-residence 1997
