John Burge Art


HOME	Spain on canvas, One	Spain on canvas,Two	Spain on paper	Australia

Crete 2023	Series	The Vault	Illustration	Contact

'You often find that a single image can more than adequately contain or crystallise an idea, paraphrasing Miro - to take a line for a walk then head for home . At other times it's necessary to stay by your theme for a far longer journey. I have long been interested in telling a story - sometimes directly and sometimes obliquely through disguise and camouflage '.

' The Magic Theatre '

The Magic Theatre ' cycle was conceived as a very free adaption of Hermann Hesse's novel 'Steppenwolf'. The central Harry Haller character became a figure wearing shorts, a beach-towel cape and a 'Batman' mask. Memories, desires and fears from an Australian childhood in the fifties and sixties share the stage with the reassuring presence of more percipient spirits.

' Bluebeard's Castle '

The series ' Bluebeard's Castle ', based around the ancient 'fairytale' and encouraged by Bartok's opera, stayed with me for many years. Started in the early 1980's, it was not until 2006 that I felt that I could confidently realize the original idea. Perhaps my technique had advanced over the years, perhaps I had become more certain of my images. The opera provided the structure, time provided the necessary distance.

'Cuba, 2016'

The result of a month's wandering through La Habana Vieja, Trinidad and the rolling hills around Vi�ales

Song to the Siren '

The old Tim Buckley song seems to have been especially composed with Kerri Simpson in mind. Musician and Muse, Kerri and her art have been enriched by her profound involvement in the mysteries of the Voudou faith.

'Flirtations and Deceptions'

Flirtations and Deceptions ' is partly inspired by the ' los Caprichos ' etchings by Goya, where compassion, horror and absurdity are presented through a surreal carnival of souls. A personal landscape can be jumbled and rearranged as an ostensibly random encounter.

'Faraway Corners, Northern Spain 2014 '

The result of a fortnight's road trip from Besalu to Cudillero. A reflection on the passing and gentle fading of time. Each painting is oil on canvas and measures between H 40 cms and W 30 to 51 cms.

'Little Deaths'

' Little Deaths ' derives from a genuine fondness of the ' Noir ' genre. A darkly illuminated room, something uncomfortable is happening or has just happened. The old story of men and women in unsettling, private encounters.

'Braveheart'

The ' Braveheart ' series began as a reaction to certain neo-conservative organizations who, at the time, appeared to be morbidly dwelling on the more unsavoury aspects of childhood. It seemed a small stepping stone to imagining the bitter cup of any child exposed to any sort of ill-treatment.