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| The Paintings of Robert Burgess, 1998 Written by Jeanne C. Wilkinson In his latest paintings, Robert Burgess merges twentieth century modernist traditions (grids, painterly abstraction) with a postmodern exploration of the tenuous relationship between permanence and flexibility. Each of his paintings is a grid, made up of twelve or fifteen separate squares - with each square a study in painterl abstraction, vibrantlytextural and vividly colored. The squares, individual compositions in and of themselves, are affixed to a ground, usually white, by way of velcro. Merging older traditions of painting with the maneuverability of velcro sets up a kind of "decontruction" of the surface that points out painting's continuing evolution and viability in a new and challenging environment. Inherent in Mr Burgess's work is a static/kinetic sensibility, acharged tension that springs from the feeling that while the compositions contain an almost infinite potential forchange, they are also comofrtable in their present arrangement. The relationships within and between each velcro-affixed square - color, line, movement - are balancedand lyrical. Rearranging the pieces would perhaps exchange a vertical element with a horizontal, or line up a white space with a yellow instead of a red - but these end up being superficial changes. The individuality and coherence of the painting remains constant regardless of internal alteration This coherence is due in no small part to the innate logic of the grid, an organized structure whether large or small. Scale, in fact, is important in this body of work - some with compositions are made of individual elements that are each 6" x 6", placed together in a rectangle of four horizontal and three vertical squares. Other works are made of fifteen 12" squares, and yet others contain even larger individual units. Unlike much work that is successful in one size range but does not translate well into another, Mr Burgess's paintings are successful scaled either up or down. This work seems grounded in joyous, yet pragmatic, sensibility. His colors are clear and clean, not unlike Mondrian's lifetime palette that began with soft pinks, beiges and ochres and ended with pure reds, blues, yellow and whites. Each of Mr Burgess's small paintings is a subtle yet complex study of modernist abstract form, combining intuitive expressive flow with geometric rationalism. The intuition involved seems intellectual rather than emotional - a sense of clarity and joyous reasoning permeates these paintings, evidence of the stylistic decision-making process of a mature artist. To find individual expression and imagery, the artist goes through a long process of experimentation and ultimately distillation, shedding the unnecessary andkeeping only that which is needed for the painting to live. Robert Burgess's work has that kind of lean intensity and confidence. |