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![]() "Of course it is a very peculiar occupation. This continual disassembly & reinvention of the fabric of our experience. Searching for a narrative line to make a sort of sense of the maddeningly complex world around us. Whether we laugh, cry or merely flip the finger & head for the hills. I aim for an art of passion, exorcism & sometimes just plain mischief. I enjoy & respect craft and an understanding of technique in painting & drawing, believing that a certain level of virtuosity & skill can only intensify an experience. Perhaps it's all just a novel or movie in waiting, some allegorical slipstream to give Dante a run for his money." John Burge, born in Mornington, Victoria, Australia, 1951 In 2008 John presented his first retrospective exhibition at the Victorian Artists Society in East Melbourne. It had been his first Melbourne show in thirty-six years and drew extensively from the nineties onward. The nine-panel ' Bluebeard's Castle ' - a free adaptation of Bela Bartok's 1918 opera - was seen for the first time in its entirety. The figurative artist had last exhibited in Melbourne in 1972 at the Warehouse Galleries in Richmond. Soon after he moved to Europe, settling in the Catalan village of Artedó, deep in the Spanish Pyrenees. A place John still refers to affectionately as ' home ground '. He exhibited in Barcelona during the dying days of the Franco regime. Throughout the mid-eighties and the nineties he worked primarily as a book and commercial illustrator and became involved with art education in schools. He continued painting and participating in both private and public gallery presentations in Melbourne. In early 2013 work was commenced on a new series - ' The Magic Theatre ', a reference to Hermann Hesse's novel, ' Steppenwolf '. The experience is filtered through the chameleon lens of a particular Australian upbringing in the fifties and sixties. Six ' chapters ' from the continuing tale can be seen in ' Series '. Recently included in ' Series ' is a suite of twenty small paintings, ' Faraway Corners ', suggested by a journey through the north of Spain. Time and ambiguity, voices from the past. August, 2018. An exhibition of recent artwork, ' Caminant després de Mitjanit ' / ' Walkin' after Midnight ' was held at la Eglésia de Sant Domenèc, La Seu d'Urgell, Catalonia. Supported by the Town Hall, the show featured recent work alongside ' The Temptations of San Antonio ', a ten-panel piece inspired by Luis Buñuel and Hieronymus Bosch, ( with a sideways glance towards Elvis ). Due to concerns over the Covid pandemic, there were two major cancellations of a solo exhibition at the Cenro Buñuel, Calanda, Aragon. The show was meant to complement the International Film Festival which, unfortunately, has now been postponed for an indefinite period. It was decided to launch the exhibition independently on the 8th of October '22, a few days before the feast of the ' Virgen del Pilar ' and to close by mid-January, '23. The museum is dedicated to the life and work of the great Spanish surrealist and filmmaker, Luis Buñuel. An exhibition of paintings and works on paper was held at the Casa de Cultura, Mas de las Matas, Provincia Teruel, Aragon for a month between August and September, '23. A return exhibition with a difference is to be held in La Seu d'Urgell, Lleida from the 5th of July '25 through to the 2nd of September '25. The show will be held in two venues, 'La Cuina' gallery in the Plaza de les Monges and 'L'Espai Ermengol', Carrer Major, 8. 'La Cuina' will host a collection of work from artists active in the region between the years 1976 to 1984. A period of social transformation and renewal throughout Catalonia and Spain. A time of artistic rejuvenation and enthusiasm. Home to both local and foreign artists and a melting pot of ideas and images. It is John's personal walk into the past, a homage to old friends and acquaintances. A parallel show will be held on the 3rd floor of the 'L'Espai Ermengol', above the 'Oficina de Turisme'. This exhibition will highlight some of John's latest paintings, including the five panel ' Swan Song '.
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' The Sky has Fallen ... a murder of crows '
' El Cielo se ha Caído ... un asesinado de cuervos ' ![]() |
1955 All images copyright © 2008 by John Burge Art. All Rights Reserved |