When the American gallerist Tim Blum was still a student in 1984, he travelled to Japan, seeking to immerse himself within the country’s underground music, film, art and design scenes. Blum eventually moved to Tokyo and his exposure to some of the artistic practices that emerged during this time heavily influenced the course of his career.
A decade later in 1994, he returned to Los Angeles, and together with Jeff Poe, co-founded Blum & Poe, which later became one of the original galleries of the Culver City Arts District. The business was renamed BLUM when Poe stepped back last year, but having helped popularise postwar Japanese art in America over the past three decades, the gallery’s 30th-anniversary exhibition signals a return to its roots. Having recently featured at BLUM’s Los Angeles space (seen here; the show is also at the Tokyo gallery until 10 March), the exhibition will open in New York in September 2024.
