JAMES BURKE : SHARDS
James Burke, "Ridge Trail,” acrylic on panel, laser transfers, and collage, 2019
FIRST WEDNESDAY OPENING RECEPTION: 05/01, 6 - 9 P.M.
artICULATE aRTIST tALK: sUNDAY, 05/19 AT 4 P.M.
“Shards,” the latest exhibition from BRG co-founder James Burke, is an amalgamation of incomplete things; which, when brought together, create “a new something not planned in advance, but rather made with each new step or decision based on the current state of the work.”
The benefit of the incompleteness of his visual ideas, in Burke’s mind, is the “infinity of potential” they hold. He sees humor in them, enjoys the fact that these “shards” all come from different places, and revels in the process with an end that is not foreseen, but discovered.
James Burke, “No Passing on the Pink Road,” acrylic on panel, laser transfers, and collage, 2019
Burke is one of the most influential contemporary arts figures in South Louisiana and is Professor Emeritus at Louisiana State University. In addition to being a founding member of Unity 8 Gallery, (which went on to become Baton Rouge Gallery center for contemporary art in 1966), Burke is featured in several private and public collections including the Wichita Art Association, the Delgado Museum of Art in New Orleans, The Dulin Galleries in Knoxville, the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, New York University at Potsdam NY and the LSU Museum of Art in Baton Rouge.
Burke's paintings are a compilation of landscape from many vantage points. By juxtaposing these views they create an entirely new prospective and space. The reinterpreted and luminous surfaces can be described as personal, whimsical and idiosyncratic to Burke's innovative point of view.
This exhibition is presented alongside the latest works from Judi Betts, Hye Yeon Nam, and Steve Schmidt. All works from these four artists are on view, free of charge, during normal gallery hours (12 - 6 p.m., Tue - Sun) through May 30, 2019.