#3,

1955

Originally from Chicago, Bluhm studied architecture under Mies van der Rohe at the Armour Institute of Technology, served as a B-26 pilot in the U.S. Army Corps for three years, and studied art in Paris and Florence before moving to New York City in the late 1950s. After being deeply moved by the work of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, Bluhm began painting in an Abstract Expressionist manner. While a student, he became fond of medieval tapestries, religious stained glass, and Italian Renaissance altarpieces. His experiences and interests may account for the emphasis on color, structure, speed, and space in his gestural paintings. Despite the growing popularity of Pop art in the 1960s and Conceptual art in the 1970s, Bluhm continued to paint in an Abstract Expressionist style for the entirety of his career.