| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Tony Bloom is an award-winning artist whose public art pieces are a familiar part of communities across the country. “The Oliver Convergence,” a feature sculpture and fountain on the Victoria Promenade in Edmonton, the “Alberta-Saskatchewan Border Marker” in Lloydminster, “Water Spheres” in the City of Burnaby, and “WaterWork,” the five-ton water-driven kinetic sculpture at BC Hydro’s headquarters in Vancouver are some of Bloom’s most recognizable works.
Bloom’s practice is diverse but includes sculpture of varying scale in clay, metal and other media as well as musical instruments. A percussionist, Bloom has created sculptures that can also be played, with his Landbuoys / Sound of Sculpture exhibition and performance piece having been staged at galleries and conferences and also as a part of an outdoor theatre performance and at Grande Prairie’s Canada Day parade. He has collaborated with musicians, poets, landscape architects and others to create his works, which often include functional elements. He has participated in exhibitions in North America, Spain, Greece and Japan, and his works are held in more than thirty corporate and civic collections, including musical instruments that are part of the Canadian History Museum collection and works held by the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada.
Bloom was born and raised in Tokyo, the second oldest of twelve siblings. He trained and worked as a physicist before shifting his focus to art. He lived in Paris and Washington, DC, before settling in Canmore, Alberta in 1970. While studying music at the Banff School of Fine Arts, he registered for a clay class and unwittingly began his practice as a sculptor. He participated in the founding of Stonecrop Studio in Canmore, the Canmore Artists and Artisans Guild and Contact, a magazine for ceramic artists. Bloom has received several awards and citations for his work, including the Mayor’s Award for Artistic Excellence in Canmore, Alberta; the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Merit Award and Regional Honour Award; and the Province of Alberta’s Achievement Award. Bloom continues to live and work in Canmore, Alberta.
Compiled 2014 |