Zachery Simpkins
zas004@marietta.edu
In the Atrium Gallery on the 3rd floor of the Hermann Fine Arts Center is Gallery 310. This year the Gallery holds the exhibition “Color Expanses”. The art within the exhibition consists of Japanese Woodblock paintings by Ando Hiroshige from the collection of the late Dr. Richard M. Krause and contemporary landscape pieces from the Columbus based artist Christopher Burk. A reception with Burk was held on March 15th where he shared insight on his inspiration for his landscape painting in the exhibition.
Burk is known for his visual art which he learned while studying at the Colombus College of Art & Design and the University of Akron. His works have won awards such as an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. Burk’s work has been shown in galleries in New York City, Santa Fe, Cuba and Chicago.
Burk focuses on the modern environment many people see today as mundane and breathe life into it through his artwork. Burk sees himself as an observer of the urban world. Through his observations, he turns what is usually an ugly environment into a beautiful landscape. The Japanese woodblock paintings seen in the exhibition next to Burk’s landscapes have been a big inspiration to how he approaches his art. Both landscapes show urban environments in a light that shows the beauty of the modern mundane.
“I think with a lot of my work it’s maybe initially unattractive to some people. But then there’s some beauty to it once you let the images sink in,” Burk stated.
The trees seen in the exhibition are painted on paper using gouache. Burk found his inspiration for these landscapes when he was in Germany two years ago. A stroll in the park near the twighlight hours of the night highlighted the trees in a way Burk found inspirational. He took the usually normal look of the trees at night and painted a vibrant background around the black looking limbs of the trees. The perspective he uses when painting the trees shows the wonder and beauty of the normal daily sights we see each day.
“Color Expanses” will be in Gallery 310 through April 18th and is open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and on Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. See for yourself the modern sights of telephone poles and suburban residencies turned into compelling pieces of artwork. The Annual Student Art & Design Exhibition will also be on display from March 29th to April 25th. During the Opening Reception on April 5th from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Artists Awards will be distributed. Both exhibits might have you view your modern-day sights with a more artistic eye.
