David Burke

Bio
David Burke is an Oakland based painter and educator whose work has been exhibited his work both nationally and internationally. He is the art director of the Super Heroes Mural Project in West Oakland and co-founder of the Autobody Bridge Program for emerging Bay Area artists. In 2015 he was part of the flagship American Arts Incubator program that sends artists abroad to collaborate with youth and underserved populations on community-based new media and mural art projects that bolster local economies, influence public policy, and further social innovation. David has worked with the US State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), the Alameda County Arts Commission and other local agencies to create community driven public artworks.

Artist Statement

My interests in science, ecology, water conservation and climate change are woven into the fabric of paintings that depict the intersection between the man-made and natural worlds. The end results are large scale, fractured landscapes that portray instances where industrial and natural forces coexist harmoniously or collide in destructive ways. Pools of ink recede like oil-saturated waters at low tide. Trees emerge from a tangled field of structures, gears and wires. They possess a toxic beauty that celebrate man’s desire to build, innovate and create while acknowledging that our compulsion to consume and expand is eroding the ecological framework that we depend on in order to sustain our often wasteful habits.

I think about the apparent rise of natural disasters across the globe as the natural world pushes back against our seemingly endless thirst for its natural resources. Each one of my paintings is born out of a series of very small disasters that take place within the studio each day. Large pools of ink spill over the imagery, wiping out whatever had been made the day before. The painting process involves equal parts control and chaos, which echoes the tenuous socio-ecological relationships depicted in the imagery.

I think about the apparent rise of natural disasters across the globe as the natural world pushes back against our seemingly endless thirst for its natural resources. Each one of my paintings is born out of a series of very small disasters that take place within the studio each day. Large pools of ink spill over the imagery, wiping out whatever had been made the day before. The painting process involves equal parts control and chaos, which echoes the tenuous socio-ecological relationships depicted in the imagery.

David Burke is represented by Lonnie Lee, Vessel Gallery.