NYAB Event - John Burtle “Accumulated Anthrome and / or Between Heaven and Earth”

John Burtle “Accumulated Anthrome and / or Between Heaven and Earth”

Clifton Benevento

This event has ended.

Clifton Benevento presents the solo exhibition Accumulated Anthrome and/or Between Heaven and Earth by California based artist John Burtle.

Inspired by the perceptual margins of landscape painting, Burtle creates an ecosystem that slowly evolves over the six-week exhibition period. Comprised mainly of acrylic paint – in carefully arranged rips, piles and globs – artworks will be repositioned, and materials added and subtracted, so that each element contributes and has a direct effect on the whole.

A flower grows.
Dawn turns into sunset.
Clouds shift.
Snails and creeping ivy evoke the slow passage of time.

Emotionally evocative, even clichéd, Burtle embraces subjects that give way to complex questions about psychological and physical support structures. Representations of constellations, shooting stars and sunsets enter a display strategy that allows for adaptability and individuality within the collective.

Burtle engenders his paintings and sculptures with mutability.
And while the fluid nature of his constructs can be understood through language and association, the physicality of the work suggests something fragile and somewhat alive.

Known for a social and often collaborative practice that ranges from sending postcard drawings, to organizing Eagle Rock Community Soup, to hosting a weekly show on KCHUNG Radio, to producing the Eternal Telethon (which raises money for an artist retirement home), Burtle regularly engages communities in processes that encourage the fostering of support structures.

John Burtle has mounted solo projects at Armory Arts Center in Pasadena, and Michael Benevento and 323 Projects in Los Angeles. Along with KCHUNG Radio he participated in the 2014 Made In LA Biennial at the Hammer Museum. Additional group exhibitions include Estacion Tijuana, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture and the Torrance Art Museum. His performance productions have appeared at the Elysian Park Museum of Art, the Experimental Meditation Center of Los Angeles, Human Resources, Machine Project, and Public Fiction.