Babette Bloch: Flora and Fauna

June 24 - October 23, 2016

Birds and flowers have been seen for millennia as spiritual and emotional touchstones. In almost every culture, birds and flowers are endowed with powerful symbolism. They may speak of love, remembrance, or condolence. They may represent gods, dynasties, apostles, or states and countries.

Babette Bloch’s large-scale Magnolias are fashioned from marine-grade stainless steel. These wall reliefs are at once boldly graphic and surprisingly delicate. Furled edging, shallow articulations of depth, and an interplay between positive and negative space animate each blossom.

Egrets is a fully three-dimensional sculpture at a more realistic scale. The birds are an animating presence in BMAC’s Sculpture Garden, with its recently cleared view overlooking the Connecticut River. As with Magnolias, Bloch incises, buffs, and grinds the steel in finishes ranging from satiny luster to diamond-like brightness.

Bloch has observed about her artistic process, “Melding the classic and the modern by using cutting-edge industrial technologies is consistently intriguing to me. Each series presents new challenges—and the pleasure of finding new art and engineering solutions.”

— Mara Williams, Chief Curator

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