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INGRAM GALLERY | WINTER 2018
With great sorrow the art community in Canada mourns the loss of
Brian Burke, who passed away on December 19, 2017, at the age of 65. His ardent support and friendship, paired with his beautiful mind, became a tie that bound us together at Ingram Gallery. An artist of singular vision, his passing is a great loss. Burke leaves us with his paintings, his theory, and for this the world is thankful. He will forever be in our hearts.
Please find words from his community here as well as an
In Memoriam feature below.
"Brian Burke's death is a loss to our province. He has been a talented and prolific ambassador for P.E.I through his art."
- Wade MacLauchlan, Premier of Prince Edward Island
"One of the Island's most significant painters ever, Burke pursued his long interest in expressive figurative painting with passion and commitment. Brian was an artist who inspired a generation with his body of work, and for making his way in the world as a painter and musician."
- Kevin Rice, Director of Confederation Centre Art Gallery
Doldrums, 40 x 60 inches, oil on canvas
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IN MEMORIAM
BRIAN BURKE, R.C.A. (1952 - 2017)
The year 2017 came to a close with the passing of
Brian Burke, one of Canada's most illustrious and preeminent figurative painters. Ingram Gallery has represented Burke since the 1990s, holding more than a dozen of his solo exhibitions, numerous group showings, and, among an ever-increasing list of accolades, seeing him inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy in 2003.
When Ingram Gallery formed a relationship with the erudite Burke, it became immediately clear that he had a finger on the pulse of society. The art he created would often be so prescient that it seemed like he was predicting world events or major shifts in our collective consciousness. Burke's insightful and occasionally piercing works continue to offer social commentary that not only shows us where we are, but, in contrast, where we should be.
As a jazz drummer as well as a painter, he sometimes drew comparisons between the two arts and the "state of grace" found during the act of artistic creation. To the outsider, it is clear that Burke lived for this state of grace, constantly nurturing his balanced and syncopated views of the world without concern for later interpretation.
He once expressed his ideal working scenario as being in studio, painting, and having a slot to feed his finished works through. Although amusing in itself, the notion symbolizes both Burke's dedication to his work as well as his attraction to a vantage point from the edges. It is in this metaphorical space, in the margins, where Burke found a clearer look at what is happening within society.
Even in works that touch on themes of alienation or isolation, Burke silently draws attention to the power of our much larger, unitive whole.
Please find links here to additional writings and press on
Brian Burke's life and career, including Terry Graff's
The Artistic Legacy of Brian Burke and
My Memories of Brian Burke.
A retrospective exhibition will be held at the gallery this October.
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ON THE WALLS | AT INGRAM
LILLIAN FREIMAN
The Sensitive Vision
January 27 - February 17 . 2018
We begin our 2018 exhibitions with Lillian Freiman. Born in Guelph, Ontario in 1908 Freiman was an artist who fully immersed herself in her studies, travels and resulting works. She did so with freedom and a worldly sense of observation.
An intimate collection of her figurative works on paper - including pieces from her days in Paris - will be at the gallery from January 27 through to February 17. Freiman has long been a favourite with collectors at Ingram Gallery. Working to amass the collection over the last several years, we are happy to be presenting The Sensitive Vision - the first formal exhibition since our June 2002 show of her works. Freiman has always been part of the gallery and we look forward to discussing this pioneering and perceptive artist with you.
Freiman's works imbibe a mellow and nostalgic sweetness. While her forms are sometimes well-defined and sometimes amorphous, they create an existence which is neither fully concrete nor wholly ethereal. Her drawings occasionally have the masterly economy and grandeur of a renaissance artist. The Canadian painter who studied in Montreal and France before settling in New York City, was highly influenced by Edgar Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec. While she lived in Toronto and New York, her work often featured orchestras and musicians. She was later recognized for her subtle interpretations of every day people and predominantly worked in oil pastels. Freiman died in 1986 at the age of 78, in New York. Her works are held in collections including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, and the McMaster Museum of Art.
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UP NEXT | AT INGRAM
TRAVIS SHILLING
Unknown legends
March 22 - April 19 . 2018
In both the public and private art setting, Travis Shilling reached great heights in 2017. His exhibition at The Latcham Gallery and Art in the Tunnels - an exciting public art project in Ottawa - dovetailed with his success here at Ingram Gallery. Shilling has been in studio over the past several months where his nocturnal creations are presenting themselves as he gives shape to an enthralling body of work. His cast of characters, born through music as inspiration - along with the immediacy of approaching a canvas and working on it in one session, all make for a mindful approach to painting.
Sneak peek: The Shawls, 24 x 24 inches, oil on canvas
Please save the date for Thursday, March 22 and join Travis Shilling as we open and celebrate Unknown legends, his third solo exhibition with Ingram Gallery.
Please click here for our complete 2018 exhibition schedule at a glance. #bookmark
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FROM ALL OF US | AT INGRAM
John Greer, 31.5 x 31.5 inches, oil on canvas | Kingston Prize finalist
A full start to 2018 means we have much in store for you at the gallery and in our next issue of
Ingram Art News, too. We welcome
Steven Volpe whose new works are already to the windows and walls.
Jane Everett has new works arriving soon from her studio in Kelowna, BC.
Daniel Hughes, along with
Brian Burke (above), will be honoured at the last stop of the touring Kingston Prize exhibition opening reception at
Harbourfront Centre Artport Gallery on February 1. We have a special project ongoing behind the scenes that will see an important public work installed at the gallery for all to enjoy. The full details for Travis Shilling's solo exhibition and further on the news here are ahead for you in our next issue.
Employing an illusion, to signify an illusion.
- Brian Burke
| Higgs Field at Ingram Gallery | October 2016
With bright wishes,
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