David Blum Collection

As of 2024, ISAPZURICH is home to David Blum’s amazing psychological legacy. We owe deep gratitude to his widow, Sarah Blum, who bequeathed to ISAP the original 43 paintings done in pastel oil crayon that David left at his death from cancer in 1998. David, a renowned conductor, allowed himself from his seventeenth year to be guided by the images appearing to him in his dreams and visions, and this collection is the result of that life led in deep connection to the unconscious.

On 15 November 2024 ‘A Celebration of the Gift of David Blum’s Paintings’ was held at ISAP. This event was an intimate tribute to David and Sarah led by Murray Stein and Peter Ammann, who knew David and Sarah personally. Sarah was also ‘present’ in the form of a lovely, recorded personal tribute she entitled, ‘The Soul of David Blum’. Lucienne Margeurat and Penelope Yungblut offered touching reflections on the healing power of images, based on some of David’s pictures. A surprise visit by flutist, Pamina Blum, daughter of the artist, rounded out the unique and moving event.

This video rendering of the event is offered free for viewing to all interested in the lifelong encounter with the unconscious through dreams.

To quote David, “I cannot explain the dreams; rather, they explain me. The dreams are greater than I am; they demand to be recorded and assimilated. My deepest intention is for this work to reveal the healing and redemptive potential of the collective unconscious. My words, act, at best, as a bridge to an ever-deeper realization of the transformative power of dreams.” (Appointment with the Wise Old Dog, p. 15, by David Blum. Chiron Publications, 2020)