Charles Burwell, an African-American painter in his mid-fifties, paints in the style of geometric abstraction. His recent show at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, on display from September 14th to October 28th , 2007, consisted of five oil paintings and five prints.
Burwell’s paintings are large and colorful, while his prints are small, black and white, and intricate. By layering psychedelic color combinations, Burwell’s paintings are elaborate and visually intense. By contrast, his digital art is constructed of black and white designs; their intensity comes from their detail and contrast of value. Both Burwell’s paintings and prints reference organic shapes and contain vertical striping. Vertical striping and energetic shapes are Burwell’s signature.
Burwell’s digital art is black and white and doesn’t command the gallery space his large colorful canvases do. They were created in a virtual way but take up real space, as do his paintings. Although the digital art images are intricate and intimate, they lack variation of surface and the hand-painted quality which makes his paintings so extraordinary. Burwell’s digital work is elaborately patterned, yet sterile.
In contrast, Burwell’s paintings are lively. Most of his paintings displayed at the DCCA are untitled, reference cartoon shapes, and seem spontaneous in creation but methodical in process. Looking at Burwell’s paintings, one can clearly see his process and discern in what order his shapes and layers were painted. There is little attempt to disguise the hand-painted quality, despite the crisp edges of Burwell’s shapes. Because Burwell’s painted surfaces are so richly and intensely patterned with same valued colors, there is little visual depth in his work; the colors jump to the surface.
His use of patterning is more successful in some of his paintings than it is in others. The paintings that have an all-over unified pattern are overwhelming to look at, as there is no place for the eye to rest or linger. These works are often highly detailed, patterned, and intense. When looking at one of Burwell’s works containing a unified pattern, there is not much to discover; the work is quickly understood, and it is easy to pass by.
His most successful paintings are those which have moments of intensity and moments of calm. The variety of shape, color, and patterning in these paintings are the elements that hold one’s attention. His paintings that have a more varied surface and convoluted layering system is more engaging and allows the viewer to become absorbed in the nuances of his work.
Like many geometric abstract paintings, it is difficult to describe Burwell’s work without focusing on formal, and oftentimes boring, issues. By describing Burwell’s work, the visual energy of his paintings is not relayed but lost in the language of color, shape, and pattern. Perhaps Burwell’s paintings are purely decorative in their abstraction, purity of color and shape, perhaps his art is created with the sole purpose of manipulating the formal elements of painting.
Like all paintings, Charles Burwell’s structure an experience; the experience he creates is ambiguous. If the goal of Burwell’s work is to evoke memory through sensory experience, it might appeal to people who lived during the psychedelic art period of the 1960’s. The colors Burwell chooses and the intensity of surface might suggest the psychedelic art era, but not the shapes and forms; these are truly Burwell’s.
His work is impersonal, as it doesn’t directly reference any recognizable imagery. This makes his paintings hard to relate to or interpret. On the other hand, his paintings lend themselves to the pleasure of looking without being about something, and thus have universality. There is no right or wrong interpretation of Burwell’s paintings and since they are abstract they can be enjoyed equally by all despite social or political views.
These positive aspects of Burwell’s work can be appropriately attributed to any painting of pure abstraction and thus negates them as qualities that create a unique viewing experience. What makes the experience of viewing Burwell’s work differently from any other abstract geometric panting?
Burwell’s paintings do not reference or depict a particular experience, but instead create one. His paintings are bright and cheerful, and their intense orange and hot pink colors coupled with equally valued cool colors create an optical vibration. One can be amazed by Burwell’s intricately woven layers of color and stripes of paint. His paintings are joyful and energetic, and his lines are crisp, bouncy, and bold. Burwell has developed his own vocabulary of shapes that reappear in many of his works. The mark of the artist’s hand is what makes these paintings special. The formal decisions Burwell makes coupled with the energetic shapes he developed, are the elements that separate his paintings from other paintings in his field.
Charles Burwell’s work can be seen at the Bridgett Mayer Gallery or on line at: http://www.mayerartconsultants.com/artist_burwellhome.htm
Burwell’s paintings are large and colorful, while his prints are small, black and white, and intricate. By layering psychedelic color combinations, Burwell’s paintings are elaborate and visually intense. By contrast, his digital art is constructed of black and white designs; their intensity comes from their detail and contrast of value. Both Burwell’s paintings and prints reference organic shapes and contain vertical striping. Vertical striping and energetic shapes are Burwell’s signature.
Burwell’s digital art is black and white and doesn’t command the gallery space his large colorful canvases do. They were created in a virtual way but take up real space, as do his paintings. Although the digital art images are intricate and intimate, they lack variation of surface and the hand-painted quality which makes his paintings so extraordinary. Burwell’s digital work is elaborately patterned, yet sterile.
In contrast, Burwell’s paintings are lively. Most of his paintings displayed at the DCCA are untitled, reference cartoon shapes, and seem spontaneous in creation but methodical in process. Looking at Burwell’s paintings, one can clearly see his process and discern in what order his shapes and layers were painted. There is little attempt to disguise the hand-painted quality, despite the crisp edges of Burwell’s shapes. Because Burwell’s painted surfaces are so richly and intensely patterned with same valued colors, there is little visual depth in his work; the colors jump to the surface.
His use of patterning is more successful in some of his paintings than it is in others. The paintings that have an all-over unified pattern are overwhelming to look at, as there is no place for the eye to rest or linger. These works are often highly detailed, patterned, and intense. When looking at one of Burwell’s works containing a unified pattern, there is not much to discover; the work is quickly understood, and it is easy to pass by.
His most successful paintings are those which have moments of intensity and moments of calm. The variety of shape, color, and patterning in these paintings are the elements that hold one’s attention. His paintings that have a more varied surface and convoluted layering system is more engaging and allows the viewer to become absorbed in the nuances of his work.
Like many geometric abstract paintings, it is difficult to describe Burwell’s work without focusing on formal, and oftentimes boring, issues. By describing Burwell’s work, the visual energy of his paintings is not relayed but lost in the language of color, shape, and pattern. Perhaps Burwell’s paintings are purely decorative in their abstraction, purity of color and shape, perhaps his art is created with the sole purpose of manipulating the formal elements of painting.
Like all paintings, Charles Burwell’s structure an experience; the experience he creates is ambiguous. If the goal of Burwell’s work is to evoke memory through sensory experience, it might appeal to people who lived during the psychedelic art period of the 1960’s. The colors Burwell chooses and the intensity of surface might suggest the psychedelic art era, but not the shapes and forms; these are truly Burwell’s.
His work is impersonal, as it doesn’t directly reference any recognizable imagery. This makes his paintings hard to relate to or interpret. On the other hand, his paintings lend themselves to the pleasure of looking without being about something, and thus have universality. There is no right or wrong interpretation of Burwell’s paintings and since they are abstract they can be enjoyed equally by all despite social or political views.
These positive aspects of Burwell’s work can be appropriately attributed to any painting of pure abstraction and thus negates them as qualities that create a unique viewing experience. What makes the experience of viewing Burwell’s work differently from any other abstract geometric panting?
Burwell’s paintings do not reference or depict a particular experience, but instead create one. His paintings are bright and cheerful, and their intense orange and hot pink colors coupled with equally valued cool colors create an optical vibration. One can be amazed by Burwell’s intricately woven layers of color and stripes of paint. His paintings are joyful and energetic, and his lines are crisp, bouncy, and bold. Burwell has developed his own vocabulary of shapes that reappear in many of his works. The mark of the artist’s hand is what makes these paintings special. The formal decisions Burwell makes coupled with the energetic shapes he developed, are the elements that separate his paintings from other paintings in his field.
Charles Burwell’s work can be seen at the Bridgett Mayer Gallery or on line at: http://www.mayerartconsultants.com/artist_burwellhome.htm
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