Bloom Projects, in the Charles Bloom Foundation Gallery and the Glass Box Window Gallery, is a project space devoted specifically to the exhibition of an individual artist.  This series acts as a laboratory, encouraging artists to move beyond their studio practice to present recently commissioned or existing work in a new context.  Named Bloom, in honor of the Charles Bloom Foundation Gallery, the word also connotes a creative development or a process of maturing that fulfills our mission to cultivate the artists of our time.

CURRENT EXHIBITION IN THE BLOOM PROJECTS SERIES:

Mitchell Wright

November 14, 2009 – January 17, 2010

The Reconstruction Wright’s drawings and paintings contemplate the romantic, evoking strong emotion as a source of aesthetic experience and placing emphasis on trepidation, horror, and awe.  In his work, one can see inspirations from varied sources including art history (Caspar David Friedrich and Francisco Goya), literature (William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor), and music (Neil Young).  Mitchell Wright’s latest paintings were inspired by William Faulkner’s short story, Barn Burning.  Relating this text to his own personal history, Wright creates images to understand how one’s sense of things is guided by their past and the importance of understanding when this is happening.  This subject matter of buildings subsumed by flames has a particularly haunting and poignant read in the context of recent Santa Barbara fires and the tragedies that ensued.   Wright was born in Winona, Mississippi (1976).  Solo exhibitions include Wishful Thinking, LAS Gallery, Phoenix, AZ (2008); You, Me., White Columns, New York, NY (2006); and Daydreaming is Squeezing Night Into Day, Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.  In addition, Wright has participated in group shows such as The Merits of Silence, Gallery Min Min, Tokyo, JP (2008); The Object Direct, Heskin Contemporary, New York, NY (2008); Sonotube, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA (2007). This exhibition has been made possible in part by the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Special thanks to Brush & Associates, Santa Barbara, CA; The Presidio Motel, Santa Barbara, CA; and Wayne McCall and Associates, Santa Barbara, CA. Press Release

Mitchell Wright parking lot, 2009

UPCOMING EXHIBITION IN THE BLOOM PROJECTS SERIES - COMING SOON!

PAST EXHIBITIONS IN THE BLOOM PROJECTS SERIES:

Kim Fisher, New Work, August 1 - October 18, 2009 • more info

Stephanie Mansolf & Kat Trajano, Acid Lovechild, June 6 - July 10, 2009 • more info

Jennifer Nocon, Gambusia Affinis Santa Barbara, February 28 - May 24, 2009 • more info

Richard Aber, Shrine, November 22, 2008– February 8, 2009 • more info

Julien Audebert, Ornament and Crimes, August 30 – November 9, 2008 • more info

Blaise Drummond, The Best I Can Do, May 30 – August 10, 2008 • more info

Mickalene Thomas, What's Love Got To Do With It?, March 1 – May 11, 2008 • more info

Bruce Yonemoto, Sounds Like the Sound of Music, January 26 - February 9, 2008 • more info

Graham Caldwell, Ejecta , November 17, 2007 - January 13, 2008 • more info

Jane Callister, Velocity, September 8 - November 4, 2007 • more info

James Van Arsdale, (Safe Inside My) Green Zone, July 14 - August 26, 2007 • more info

Delia Gonzalez & Gavin RussomTomorrow Belongs to Me, April 28 - June 24, 2007 • more info

Emilie Halpern, Overcast, February 24 - April 15, 2007 • more info

J. Shea (aka 9) and Tanner Goldbeck (aka Racecar 13), 9 vs. 13, September 2 - October 29, 2006 • more info

Amy Gartrell, Growing Flowers By Candlelight (Pt. II), July 1- August 27, 2006 • more info

Jesse Bransford, Of Two and Three, April 22 , 2006 - June 18, 2006 • more info

David Florimbi, Imminent Domain, February 18, 2005 - April 7, 2006 • more info

Jude Tallichet, Diluvian, December 10, 2005 - January 22, 2006 • more info

Francesca Gabbiani, Les Fluer du Mal, October 15 - November 27, 2005 • more info

Chris Ballantyne, Out of Place, August 10 - September 7, 2005  •   more info

Rob Fischer, Accidental/Intentional, June 18 - July 31, 2005