AINSLEY BURROWS: ASTONISHING THE GODS
4954 OLD YORK RD PHILADELPHIA, PA 19140 RUSHARTSPHILLY.ORG RUSHARTSPHILADELPHIA@GMAIL.COM
"AINSLEY BURROWS: ASTONISHING THE GODS” IS ON VIEW AT RUSH ARTS PHILADELPHIA GALLERY. IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING ANY OF THE WORKS, PLEASE EMAIL US AT RUSHARTSPHILADELPHIA@GMAIL.COM.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Ainsley Burrows, "Astonishing the Gods" is a collection of works that showcases methodologies that he has galvanized throughout his practice.
Featuring 13 works, “Astonishing the Gods" includes works from Burrows that span from 2017 to 2022.
Throughout his career, Burrows has coined terms such as "Rakitism" and "String Theory" to continue to push his practice. Rakitism explores the 4th dimension in paintings such as Minotaur (2021). "These paintings are characterized by bright colors and soft shadows that often include abstract figures whose movements and features are choppy, creating the perception that we ’ re seeing them at different moments in time from various perspectives," says Burrows.
The technique he uses called "String Theory" emulates the immigration of our ancestors. "We all have this in common, and as the scientific theory explores the fundamentals of what keeps the universe together".
Ainsley Burrows Public Exhibition opening will be held on Sunday, October 9th at 3pm. The exhibit is on view at Rush Arts Philadelphia Gallery, located at 4956 Old York Road, Philadelphia, PA. All works will be available for purchase by emailing rushartsphiladelphia@gmail.com.
About Rush Arts Philadelphia
Rush Arts Philadelphia’s mission is to build a community driven art space that provides opportunities to both local artists and curators, focused on community revitalization and relevance to the people of the surrounding neighborhoods, and arts based educational opportunities for local youth who can benefit from them the most.
Ainsley Burrows (b. 1974 in Kingston, Jamaica; based in Brooklyn, NY and Baltimore, MD) is a multidisciplinary artist who explores untold stories and unspoken emotions. He is a poet, musician, and performer, as well as a painter, and his different creative pursuits influence each other. Raised in Kingston, Jamaica and Brooklyn, NY, Burrows paints with his upbringing in the foreground, referencing the many lessons and stories, historical figures and events, and movements and diasporas that have shaped his perspective.
Burrows’ practice mainly uses two methodologies: NeoChaos and Raktism. The former is characterized by expressive gestures and lines, and deep, passionate swathes of color. With it, he explores the reverberations of a history that continues to affect him, showing how the past is alive and how we must make its legacy visible. Raktism is defined by sharp, boundary creating lines and visual echoes. It is an exploration of the fourth dimension and an attempt to understand the unknowable through systems of control. The flow of lines sometimes connecting, sometimes separating represent the many streams of sudden, painful, and historic phenomena; highways of time. Burrows has upcoming solo exhibitions at SUNY Oneonta, Oneonta, NY; KIRPA Auction House, online; Rush Arts, Philadelphia, PA; The Lion Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; and Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD. He is participating in upcoming group exhibitions at Community College of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD; 11:Eleven Gallery, Washington, DC; and Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA. His work is included in several private collections including those of Hill Harper, Jeffrey Wright, Wayee Chu, Lisane Basquiat, Jeanine and Herve Heriveaux, and Andre and Joia Perry.
www.ainsleyburrowsart.com ABOUT THE ARTIST
ARTIST STATEMENT
Ainsley Burrows | Artist Statement
Ainsley Burrows (b. 1974 in Kingston, Jamaica; lives and works in Baltimore, MD and Brooklyn, NY).
I am a multidisciplinary artist exploring personal histories, inherited trauma, and the intersections of the visual and emotional with the written and physical. My artistic practice provides a necessary outlet to my compulsive creativity and active mind, and my paintings communicate with my other creative pursuits I am also a poet, musician, and performer. Working predominantly with acrylic on canvas, I lean into the tactility of the mediums I work with, using expressive gestures to apply paint and following its natural flow. I’ve utilized several styles, ranging from expressionism to cubism to folk art, to scrutinize and reimagine the colonial legacy of European artists like Picasso and Modigliani, while paying homage to Black artists including Basquiat and Lawrence. From 2016 2019, I built The Maroons: Rebellion series, 125 paintings that deal with the resilience of the Maroons in their fight for freedom in Jamaica. I used a palette knife as well as the brush to spin memories and interpretations into each multi layered image. The knife gave me less control, but is more expressive and helped me share my emotional state while capturing this story In works like African Scream (2016) and Obeah (2019), I interpret the harrowing memories of the Middle Passage and the long term effects of such a violent and sudden shift. This sensation is found in the paints’ unceasing movement and in large swaths of emotive color: blues, blacks, and whites. I call this technique Neo Chaos and through it I work to imprint the turbulence of what I perceive onto the canvas. In 2021, I focused on a new method I call Raktism, exploring the fourth dimension with new paintings like Saint Notorious I (2021) and Minotaur (2021). These paintings are characterized by bright colors and soft shadows that often include abstract figures whose movements and features are choppy, creating the perception that we ’ re seeing them at different moments in time from various perspectives. Sharp lines box in figures while parts of their bodies escape the framing devices; the escaped parts appear refracted and/or create a visual echo from the shape that was intersected. This visual effect is intended to bring the image and space together while also paradoxically splitting it apart, so the viewer can feel the intensity of observing time and the movement inherent in the image even though the painting is static. I also often include representations of traditional African spiritual figures that act as symbols of the unknown, unseen, and unknowable
1 Paul Bogle V, 2017 Acrylic on canvas 48 x 36 in $10,000
2 Paul Bogle III, 2017 Acrylic and cardboard on canvas 48 x 36 in $10,000.00
3 Paul Bogle VI, 2017 Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 48 x 36 in $10,000
4 Paul Bogle I, 2017 Acrylic and cardboard on canvas 48 x 24 in $10,000.00
5 Paul Bogle II, 2017 Acrylic, cardboard and mixed media on canvas 48 x 24 in $10,000
6 Minotaur, 2021 Acrylic on canvas 66 x 72 in $16,667.00
7 Emmett Floyd / Johnny Was, 2021 Acrylic on canvas 66 x 72 in $16,667.00
8 Misty Morning, 2021 Acrylic on canvas 66 x 72 in $15,000.00
9 String Theory, 2021 Acrylic on canvas 62 x 71 in $13,333.00
10 Rat Race, 2021 Acrylic on canvas 66 x 72 in $13,333.00
11 Troubled Waters, 2021 Acrylic on canvas 66 x 72 in $13,333
12 Don't Let The Fury Fall On Me, 2022 Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 71 x 72 in $16,667.00
13 Paradise Found, 2022 Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 71 x 72 in $16,667.00
