Notes

Born in 1982 in Pretoria, Zander Blom came to public attention as an artist in 2007 with his exhibition The Drain of Progress at Rooke Gallery in Johannesburg. His work at the time combined abstract painting and photography in compositions that referenced Modernism and spatial depiction. Blom deepened his interest in abstraction by exploring specific Western painting traditions from a contemporary perspective. His use of impasto, gestural mark and pictorial structure, along with his exploitation of the oil paint's stain on unprimed Belgian linen, presents a distinctive painting style in South Africa. The monochromatic palette typical of some of his earlier works is evident in Untitled [1.62] as is his later concern with colour as form: yellow striations are juxtaposed with black and white shapes. While the work has no obvious representational reference, the structure and texture of the marks suggest forms in nature. Two years before this painting was created Blom was selected for the Younger than Jesus artists' directory published by the New Museum, New York.

Exhibited

Stevenson Gallery, Johannesburg, Zander Blom: New Paintings, 27 October - 6 December 2011

Literature

Zander Blom. (2013) Paintings Volume I, Cape Town: Stevenson. Illustrated in colour on page 207.