INGRAM GALLERY | October & November 2018


 
The celebrated paintings of Brian Burke are illuminating the walls in Perpetual Grace: A Retrospective from October 20 - November 10.  An accomplished figurative artist and member of the Royal Canadian Academy, his passing in 2017 marked a loss for art lovers worldwide.  Perpetual Grace offers a view of Burke's work from various series over a 20-year timeline.

"My paintings are not about me; they are about you."

- Brian Burke, R.C.A. (1952-2017)

ON THE WALLS | AT INGRAM
 
BRIAN BURKE, R.C.A. (1952-2017)
Perpetual Grace: A Retrospective
October 20 - November 10 . 2018

Opening reception: Saturday, October 20 | 2pm - 4pm


Brian Burke was born in Charlottetown, P.E.I. in 1952 and developed a love for painting and drawing as a child.  In the early 1970s, Burke's education in the arts saw him studying at Holland College followed by one semester of instruction from Eric Fischl at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.  A skilled draughtsman, Burke's interest in the human form and his neo-expressionist approach became defining characteristics of his work.

BRIAN BURKE, Alles ist nicht in Ordnung (1999) 40 x 40 inches, oil on canvas


In the early 1980s, Henry Purdy of Holland College offered Burke his first professional show at the college and the exhibition was met with both critical and commercial success.  Exhibitions followed in Halifax, Toronto, New York, and Seattle, among others, establishing Burke's place as one of the foremost Canadian painters and earning him membership in the Royal Canadian Academy.
 

Brian Burke left behind an impressive legacy - a prodigious body of work that is powerfully haunting and impactful, tinged with black humour in its resolute dedication to the truthful representation of the timeless existential predicament of the human condition.

January 5, 2018 | The East Mag

Along with his wife Judith Scherer, he divided his final years living between Murray Harbour, PEI and Luzern, Switzerland.  Brian Burke passed away on December 19, 2017 at the age of 65 in Prince Edward Island.


Painting for me is an activity not unlike playing jazz. With jazz I require interaction with other people to find that state where I am, in effect, watching myself play. If all is going well I can achieve a similar 'state of grace' while in the act of painting. I paint to find that space.

- Brian Burke, R.C.A. (1952-2017)

Burke's work draws fervent attention outside of Canada, currently appearing in Karneval der Tiere at Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland until January 6, 2019.  His work was also on show in A Moment Ago, a recent solo exhibition at Galerie Müller in Luzern.



BRIAN BURKE, Three Ring Circus (2008) 45 x 72 inches, oil on canvas


Please contact Ingram Gallery  to receive the exhibition catalogue, the artist's CV, and with any further inquiries.

UP NEXT | AT INGRAM
 
VALE VARIATIONS
Harold Town & Florence Vale
November 17 - December 5 . 2018

Excitement has been building for our upcoming Vale Variations exhibition, a collection of works by dear friends Harold Town and Florence Vale.  The mythical  Pyramid of Roses (ink, 1965) is a small drawing by Florence Vale that Harold Town became transfixed with and catalyzed his numerous improvisations.  Inspired by the piece, Town produced a gallery of works under the drawing's influence.  The Vale Variations exhibition will showcase many of the works in this series by Town as well as the drawings, collage works, and paintings of Florence Vale.  Please click here for more information regarding the exhibition.

Throughout all of these, Town has kept the spirit of the original. His variations have the same lightheartedness, the same sensuousness and the same pleasant charm.  Above all he has kept the humour and whimsicality.  In a time of difficult and complex art, this love for innocent delight is greatly welcome.

- David P. Silcox
Harold Town: The First Exhibition of New Work, 1969-1973
Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, 1973

HAROLD TOWN, Vale Variation #72 (1972) 19.5 x 25.5 inches, pencil, oil paint,
oil pastel & pencil pastel on yellow Canson paper


BEYOND THE GALLERY WALLS

Travis Shilling's Spirit of the Times exhibition enjoyed great success at The Ojibwe Cultural Foundation on Manitoulin Island.  A prime time for his work, Shilling was also shortlisted to create a large-scale piece for Re-Imagining Place: The Hart House Centennial Commission.  A meeting of jury members will wrap deliberations and announce their selected artist before the month's end.  Still further, Shilling has been slated to hold his first solo exhibition in the USA at the Burlington City Arts in Vermont from October 25, 2019 to February 8, 2020.  Please stay tuned for additional details relating to these thrilling ventures.

Ryan Price has a public exhibition taking place at the Elora Centre for the Arts in Elora, Ontario.  A Series of Meaningless Pencil Drawings Done Over a Short Period of Time While Listening to Heavy Metal Music is on view until November 18, 2018.  This new collection of drywall drawings will be available here at the gallery soon after.
 

FROM ALL OF US | AT INGRAM
 
BARKER FAIRLEY, Yellow Day (1979) 16 x 20 inches, oil on masonite


Fresh works have been arriving so frequently at the gallery that we live in a constant state of artful discussion.  New pieces from the studios of Ryan Dineen, Jane Everett, Jessica Levman, Toni Hamel and Daniel Hughes have had us and visitors in animated discussion. 

New additions to our historical works have also been flowing into the gallery, such as the incomparable paintings of Barker Fairley and sculptures of E.B. Cox. The Prince Edward County landscapes (1974-1979) are a choice period in Fairley's oeuvre for their minimalism and colour sense.
JANE EVERETT, Tracery II (2018) 48 x 60 inches, oil on canvas


We look forward to seeing you at the gallery for the opening reception of Brian Burke's Perpetual Grace: A Retrospective on October 20 from 2pm to 4pm along with our special guest, Judith Scherer-Burke.


All the best, 
 
Tarah Aylward, Director    
Ingram Gallery 

@TorontoART 
 
For the love of art | #AtTheGallery