CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 4/20/2019

In honor of Passover, 'Modern Mystic: The Art of Hyman Bloom'

"Spiritual life cannot be delegated; true spiritual experience can only come from within, and it is only through individual effort to deepen the process that a state of grace can be achieved. Certain kinds of knowledge can only be earned, sometimes through effort, and other times through suffering." So said Hyman Bloom, the influential but overlooked painter whose work is collected in this revelatory new monograph, published in advance of MFA Boston's major forthcoming exhibition, which will be on view from July 2019 through February 2020. Despite Bloom's European Jewish heritage, his lifelong interest in mysticism ultimately transcended any one religion, philosophy or point of view. Featured image is "The Stone" (1947).