(b.1968)

Born in 1968 in Allentown, Pennsylvania and now residing in Philadelphia, Jim Bloom intended to be a writer, but suffered from a debilitating back injury after an automobile accident in 2002, and developed a movement disorder which caused painful muscle contractions and tremors. Unable to sit for long periods and troubled by the mental issues that ensued, Bloom began to express his pain and frustration through art. His earliest output was raw with anger, taut with emotion and possessed a great wit and irony.
Bloom uses his art to get “inside somewhere,” away from his tics and anxiety about fitting into the outside world. His work allows him to “go off to another part of myself that’s true.” He concentrates his creative energies by expressing his inner feelings in a non-linear way; cutting, layering and painting with available materials such as cardboard, found objects, wood, newspaper, paper plates, acrylics, house paint, watercolors, crayons, markers, pencils, pen or charcoal. His collage-like scenes are often scrawled with words or insightful expressions.
Bloom’s frankness leaves an indelible impression. He comments on inappropriate situations, personal or observed vulnerabilities, bad behavior, popular culture and gender issues. He is outspoken, bold, and unfiltered. Whether it is therapy for his personal condition or pure expression of creative energy, his art is raw, simultaneously dark and funny but always provocative. Bloom intends to create works that need no explanation; ideas that stand on their own and are readily accessible to the viewer without being labeled “outsider” or “self-taught.” Clearly, his works are singular yet resonate with powerful shared emotions.