B R I A N B U R K E R . C . A.
Born August 5th, 1952 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada; studied Commercial Design at
Holland College, Charlottetown, (1971-73); Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax (1974); extended
stays in New York and Switzerland; member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, Canada; lived and
worked on Prince Edward Island; in the last six years of his life he divided his studio between Lucerne,
Switzerland and Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island. Brian Burke died December 19th, 2017 in Murray
Harbour, Prince Edward Island.
Selected Exhibitions 2017 -2020:
- Predicaments, Brian Burke, a Retrospective: Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island,
Canada, 2019, catalogue/book
- Karneval der Tiere, aus der Sammlung des Kunsthauses, exhibition from the collection of the Kunstmuseum Lucerne,
Switzerland, 2018-2019
- A Moment Ago, solo exhibition, Galerie Müller, Lucerne, 2018
- Perpetual Grace, a Retrospective, Ingram Gallery, Toronto, 2018
- Suddenly it was as though nothing had happened, solo exhibition Studio 21 Fine Art, Halifax, 2019
Solo and group exhibitions in public galleries and institutions
2023 Conversation Pieces, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada,
group exhibition from the collection, curated by Pan Wendt
2020 Artists by Artists, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, group
exhibition from the collection, curated by Pan Wendt
2019 Predicaments, Brian Burke, a Retrospective, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince
Edward Island, Canada, curated by Pan Wendt, catalogue/book
2018 Karneval der Tiere, aus der Sammlung des Kunsthauses, group exhibition from the collection of the
Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland, curated by Heinz Stahlhut
2017-18 Great and North, Imago Mundi, Collection Luciano Benetton, Palazzo Loredan, Venice, Italy and OCAD
University, Toronto, curated by Francesca Valente
2017 Re: Collection, Five Decades: A Canadian Art Collection, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown,
Prince Edward Island, curated by Kevin Rice and Pan Wendt, catalogue/book
2016 Holding the Pose: Portraits from the Collection, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, group
exhibition from the permanent collection, curated by Pan Wendt
2014 Here today, solo exhibition, The Guild, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
2013 Jahresausstellung, Kunstmuseum Lucerne, Switzerland, curated by Heinz Stahlhut
2011 Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown Prince Edward Island, Canada, group exhibition from
the permanent collection curated by Pan Wendt
2009 Free Parking, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, group exhibition curated by Pan Wendt
Other Worlds, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, group exhibition curated by Ihor Holubitzky
2007 Site/Specific/Sight, Marion McCain Atlantic Art Exhibition, Beaverbrook Gallery, Fredricton, NB, Canada,
group exhibition curated by Tom Lovatt, catalogue
2005 Many Years Later, solo exhibition, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, commission at the occasion of the
150th anniversary of Charlottetown, curated by Jon Tupper
2004 Single Gentlemen Only (Small World), solo exhibition, Confederation Centre Art Gallery,
Charlottetown, curated by Shauna McCabe
03, 00, 97, 95, Marion McCain Atlantic Art Exhibitions, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, curated
group exhibitions, catalogues
1998 Main Event, Sabre Dance, Design Exchange, Toronto, solo exhibition, curated and organized by
Kimberly Cudney, Scotia Capital Markets
1996 Mr. Man, solo exhibition, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, curated by Terry Graff,
touring: W.K.P. Kennedy Gallery, North Bay, Ontario, catalogue
1993 Bild, solo exhibition, City Hall, Moncton
1987 New Work, solo exhibition, Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum, Charlottetown,
curated by Mark Holton, catalogue
1984 See? New Paintings by Brian Burke, solo exhibition, Great George Street Gallery
1983 Making a note of it, solo exhibition, Holland College, Charlottetown, curated by Henri Purdy
Solo exhibitions, galleries:
2023 Frühling im Garten, Galerie Müller, Lucerne, Switzerland
2019 Suddenly it was as though nothing had happened, Studio 21 Fine Art, Halifax
2018 Perpetual Grace, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
A Moment Ago, Galerie Müller, Lucerne, Switzerland
2017 Interieurs - Interiors, Galerie Müller, Lucerne, Switzerland
2016 Middle of Nowhere - Nirgendwo, Galerie Müller, Lucerne, Switzerland
Higgs Field, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
2015 Imaginäre Begegnungen, Galerie Müller, Lucerne, Switzerland
Echo, Studio 21, Halifax, Toronto International Art Fair
Assumption, Cascando, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
2014 Private, Galerie Müller, Lucerne, Switzerland
Private, The Guild Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
2013 Them, Galerie Müller, Lucerne, Switzerland
Waiting for the One Eyed Man, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
Glynnis, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
2012 A Medley for you, Studio 21, Halifax
2011 Incidentals, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
2011 Fish Story, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
2010 Sincerely B., Ingram Gallery, Toronto
Seven Sorrowful Mysteries, Ingram Gallery, Toronto International Art Fair
2009 Dead Man's Pond, Gallery Page and Strange, Halifax
2008 Predicament, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
Divine Sitcom, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts
That's it, Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
2007 Flagrant Alterations, Allen Sheppard Gallery, New York
Deep Space, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
2006 Grand Hotel, Gallery Jones, Vancouver
For Ever Endeavour, Studio 21, Halifax
2005 Paintings, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
2004 Shhhhh..., Galerie St.Laurent plus Hill, Ottawa
Unknown Equations, Esthésio Art Contemporain, city of Québec
Alone Together, Ingram Gallery
Small World, Studio 21, Halifax
2003 Oeuvres récentes, Esthésio Art Contemporain, Québec City
Ties that bind, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
Con Text, Elissa Cristall Gallery, Vancouver
Lawn Party, Studio 21, Halifax
2002 A Who's Who of Unknowns, Studio 21, Halifax
Leaders and Heads, Elissa Cristall Gallery, Vancouver
Rank and File, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
Transient Figure, Kunst Raum, Solothurn, Switzerland
2001 Leaders and Heads, Kier Gallery, Charlottetown
Technicians, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
2000 Other Works, Kier Gallery, Charlottetown
Bedlam, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
1999 Bedlam II, Russell Gallery, Peterborough, Ontario
Bedlam, Lead Gallery, Seattle, Washington
Last Dance, Kier Gallery, Charlottetown
Bedlam, Lead Gallery, Seattle, Washington
1998 Mr. Man, Lead Gallery, Seattle, Washington
1995 New Work, Zwicker’s Gallery, Halifax, N.S.
New Work Gallery Ueli der Paechter, Solothurn, Switzerland
1990 New Work, Vorpal Gallery, New York, NY
New Work, Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, California
Group exhibitions in galleries and institutions:
2017 Great and North, Imago Mundi, Collection Luciano Benetton, group exhibition, Palazzo Loredan
Venedig, Aug. 29 - Oct. 2017, curated by Francesca Valente, catalogue "Out of the Bush Garden"
2013 Extremes, Studio 21, Halifax
2006 Atlantic Transit, artists from Atlantic Canada, Galerie Schloss Mochental, Ehingen, Germany,
Art Contact Fredricton, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts
In my Solitude, Gallery Neubacher, Toronto, curated by The Curatorial Syndicate
1993-94 Frank Bustamante Gallery, New York, NY
1988 Mira Goddard Gallery, Toronto
International Art Fairs
2013-19 Art Toronto, International Art Fair, Studio 21, Halifax
2011 Toronto International Art Fair, Ingram Gallery Toronto
2010 Toronto International Art Fair, Ingram Gallery Toronto
2009 Toronto International Art fair, Ingram Gallery Toronto; Gallery Page and Strange, Halifax
2008 Toronto International Art fair, Ingram Gallery Toronto; Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredricton
2007 Toronto International Art Fair: Ingram Gallery, Toronto; Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredricton
2006 art KARLSRUHE, Germany, Art Contact Fredricton Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts
2005 Toronto International Art Fair, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
03/04 Toronto International Art Fair, Ingram Gallery, Toronto; Studio 21, Halifax
01/02 Toronto International Art Fair, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
Residencies, special exhibitions and presentations:
1998 Design Exchange, Toronto, Sabre Dance, Main Event, solo exhibition curated and organized
by Kimberly Cudney, Scotia Capital Markets
2002 Altes Spital, Solothurn, artist residency, in connection with a solo exhbition at Kunst Raum,
Solothurn, Switzerland
2018 Circle Around The Centre Luncheon, curated by Catherine Hennessey, Confederation Centre for
the Arts Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; speaker: Terry Graff, former director of The
Beaverbrook Art Gallery and Confederation Centre Art Gallery
Grants, awards, commissions:
'86/95/98 Canada Council for the Arts, project grants
‘83/84/86/89-98, 00-03, 05/07,13 Prince Edward Island Council of the Arts, project grants
2004 Confederation Centre Art Gallery, MANY YEARS LATER, commission
2009 Adrian Arsenault Award, Prince Edward Island Council of the Arts
2014 The Prince Edward Island Council of the Arts, Sesquicentennial Collection, commission
2017 Kingston Prize, nomination
2020 Holland College, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Distinguished Alumni Award
Public collections, institutions
Kunstmuseum Luzern, permanent collection, Luzern, Switzerland
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
The Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Bruswick, Canada
Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
WKP Kennedy Gallery, North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Art Bank/Art Collection of the Province of Prince Edward Island , Charlottetown, Canada
Department of External Affairs, Ottawa, Canada
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Canada
University of Prince Edward Island
The Bank of Nova Scotia, Art Collection, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TD Canada Trust, Art Collection, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Nordstrom Corporation, San Francisco, U.S.
Various corporations
Bibliography, reviews, texts, film:
- Maryniak, Maria: “See? New Paintings by Brian Burke”, Arts Atlantic 20, Summer 1984
- Holton, Mark, Brian Burke: Recent Work, Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum, 1987
- Brandon, Laura: "Brian Burke: Recent Work 1985-86", Arts Atlantic 29, Summer/Fall 1987
- Laurette, Patrick Condon: “Brian Burke: An Artist from the Island”, Arts Atlantic 36, Winter 1990
- Scott, Melanie: “Brian Burke”, Arts Atlantic 38, Fall 1990
- Buhrfeind, Eva: “Stimmungen aus dem Alltag", Solothurner Zeitung, Nov. 3, 1992
- Pollard, Brian, “Figure in a Landscape”: A Film on the Art of Brian Burke”, Insight Productions, 1993
- Kubacki, Maria: “Brian Burke”, Arts Atlantic 48, Winter 1994
- Graff, Terry: “Unmasking Mister Man”, Sheri, McBride: “The Suit: The Making of the Man”, Confederation
Centre Art Gallery and Museum, catalogue, 1997
- Scott, Melanie: “A New Group of Seven”, Saturday Night, Toronto July/Aug. 1997
- Hackett, Regina: “Painter Brian Burke's macabre caricatures now at Lead Gallery”, The Seattle Post
Intelligencer, September 23, 1998
- Miller, Earl: “Brian Burke, the Design Exchange Toronto”, Arts Atlantic 63, spring 1999
- Goddard, Peter, “Brian Burke is wickedly funny” Toronto Star, March 10, 2002
- Mischler, Vera, “Wo sich Bild und Bewegung finden”, Solothurner Zeitung, Switzerland April 22, 2002
- Allard, Nicole, “Les humeurs existentielles de Brian Burke”, Le Soleil, Québec City, Feb. 15, 2003
- Bois, Michel, ”Rires jaunes et gris”, Le Soleil, Québec, Sept. 2004
- Barnard, Elissa, “Brian Burke has taken to his bed”, Chronicle Herald, Halifax, November, 20, 2004
- Barnard, Elissa, “Birds survey human folley”, Chronicle Herald, Halifax, Nov. 26, 2006
- Holubizky, Ihor, “Other Worlds”, Summer Group Exhibition, Confederation Centre Art Gallery,
Charlottetown Prince Edward Island, 2009
- Wendt, Pan, "Free Parking", Summer Group Exhibition, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown
Prince Edward Island, 2011
- Sawler, Harvey, "The Centre For All Canadians", book, Confederation Centre for the Arts, 2014
- Müller, Ingrid, "Burke/Scherer Grounded in their Art"; Billie, Undercurrents in Atlantic Canadian Visual
Culture, Beaver Brook Art Gallery, Spring 2016
- Valente, Francesca, "Out of the Bush Garden", Contemporary Artists from Central-Eastern Canada, imago
mundi, Collection Luciano Benetton, Antiga Edizioni 2016
- Rice, Kevin, w. various authors, "RE:collection", exhibition catalogue, Confederation Centre Art Gallery", 2017
- Wendt, Pan; Slifkin, Robert; Stahlhut, Heinz; Scherer, Judith, "Predicaments, Brian Burke, a retrospective",
catalogue/book, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, 2019