Born in New York City in 1949, Ross Bleckner enrolled at CalArts in 1972 at the urging of Chuck Close, his teacher at NYU. Despite the emphasis on experimental media there, Bleckner found his expression in oil painting. He became one of the first artists to join the Mary Boone Gallery when it opened in 1978. In 1995, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York honored Ross Bleckner with a mid-career retrospective. Often addressing themes of remembrance, loss, and transcendence, his work is exhibited in major museums and group and solo shows throughout the world.