Belsazzer Feast, 1959

European and American culture intertwine throughout Norman Bluhm’s career. In the 1950s, the artist began establishing a dialogue between the art historical tradition and the power of gestural expression. Thus the label of Abstract Expressionism generally associated with his work relates only to one aspect of his art, but does not fully encompass his cultural itinerary as a whole. Born in the United States and raised in Florence, Italy, Bluhm returned to his native city of Chicago in the 1940s in order to study architecture with Mies van der Rohe.