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.
Solo and group exhibitions in public galleries and institutions
2024 The Sweet Spot, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, group exhibition from the collection,
curated by Pan Wendt
2023 Conversation Pieces, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, group exhibition from the collection,
curated by Pan Wendt
2020 Artists by Artists, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, group exhibition from the collection,
curated by Pan Wendt
2019 Predicaments, Brian Burke, a Retrospective, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, 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, catalogue/book
2017 Re: Collection, Five Decades: A Canadian Art Collection, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown,
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
2013 Jahresausstellung, Kunstmuseum Lucerne, Switzerland, curated by Heinz Stahlhut
2011 Group exhibition from the permanent collection Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown,
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, group exhibition, Beaverbrook Art Gallery,
Fredericton, NB, curated by Tom Lovatt, catalogue
2005 Many Years Later, solo exhibition, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, commission on 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/books
1998 Main Event, Sabre Dance, solo exhibition, Design Exchange, Toronto, Scotia Capital Markets, curated and
organized by Kimberly Cudney
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, New Brunswick
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, Charlottetown,
curated by Libby Oulton
1983 Making a note of it, solo exhibition, Holland College, Charlottetown, curated by Henri Purdy
Solo exhibitions in 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
Higgs Field, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
2015 Imaginäre Begegnungen, Galerie Müller, Lucerne
Echo, Studio 21, Halifax, Toronto International Art Fair
Assumption, Cascando, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
2014 Private, Galerie Müller, Lucerne,
Private, The Guild Gallery, Charlottetown
2013 Them, Galerie Müller, Lucerne
Waiting for the One Eyed Man, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
Glynnis, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredericton, New Brunswick
2012 A Medley for you, Studio 21, Halifax
2011 Incidentals, Ingram Gallery, Toronto
2011 Fish Story, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredericton, New Brunswick
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
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 Pächter, Solothurn, Switzerland
1990 New Work, Vorpal Gallery, New York, NY
New Work, Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, California
Group exhibitions in galleries and institutions
2024 Half Forgotten Poem, Galerie Müller, Lucerne, Switzerland
2017 Great and North, Imago Mundi, Collection Luciano Benetton, group exhibition, Palazzo Loredan
Venice, Italy; OCAD University, Toronto 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 Fredericton, 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, Fredericton
2007 Toronto International Art Fair: Ingram Gallery, Toronto; Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredericton
2006 art KARLSRUHE, Germany, Art Contact Fredericton 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 exhibition at Kunst Raum,
Solothurn, Switzerland
2018 Circle Around the Centre Luncheon, curated by Catherine Hennessey, Confederation Centre for
the Arts Charlottetown; speaker: Terry Graff, former director of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and
Confederation Centre Art Gallery
2024 Brian Burke House, Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island, HIGGS FIELD
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, corporate collections, private collections
- Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland, Permanent Collection
- Canada Council for the Arts Art Bank, Ottawa
- Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum, Permanent Collection, Charlottetown
- Department of External Affairs, Canada
- Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax
- The Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton
- WKP Kennedy Gallery, North Bay, Ontario
- Art Bank/Art Collection of the Province of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown
- University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown
- TD Canada Trust, Charlottetown
- The Bank of Nova Scotia, Toronto
- Nordstrom Corporation, Seattle
- Private and corporate collections in Canada, U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa
Bibliography, reviews, texts, film
- Maryniak, Maria: "See? New Paintings by Brian Burke", Arts Atlantic 20, Summer 1984
- Holton, Mark: Brian Burke: Recent Paintings, 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, cover story, Winter 1990
- Scott, Melanie: "Brian Burke", Arts Atlantic 38, 1991
- Buhrfeind, Eva: "Stimmungen aus dem Alltag", Solothurner Zeitung, Switzerland, Nov. 3, 1992
- Graff, Terry: "Squatters Public Art Project: A Festival of Visual Arts", Arts Atlantic 44, Fall 1992
- Pollard, Brian: Figure in a Landscape: A Film on the Art of Brian Burke, 16 mm, Insight Productions, 1993
- Chiasson, Hérménegilde: Anecdotes and Enigmas, Marion McCain Atlantic Art Exhibition, Beaverbrook Art
Gallery,1994
- Kubacki, Maria: "Brian Burke", Arts Atlantic 48, Winter 1994
- Kubacki, Maria: "FIGURE IN A LANDSCAPE: A Film on the Art of Brian Burke", directed by Brian Pollard,
Arts Atlantic 50, Fall 1994
- Graff, Terry: "Unmasking Mr. Man, paintings by Brian Burke", Arts Atlantic, Spring 1996
- McQuaid, Sean: "Life of Brian Burke", The Buzz, Prince Edward Island, April 1996
- Dowling, Julie: "Exhibit View to Masculine World", The Guardian, April 8, 1996
- Graff, Terry: Unmasking Mister Man; McBride, Sheri: The Suit: The Making of the Man, exhibition
catalogue MR. MAN, Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum, 1997
- MacKay, Matthew: "Brian Burke", Arts Atlantic 57, Spring 1997
- Scott, Melanie: "A New Group of Seven", Saturday Night, Toronto, July/August 1997
- Gibson Garvey, Susan: Theatrum Mundi, The Marion McCain Atlantic Art exhibition, Beaverbrook
Art Gallery 1997
- Hackett, Regina: "Painter Brian Burke's macabre caricatures now at Lead Gallery", The Seattle Post
Intelligencer, 9/23/1998
- Miller, Earl: "Brian Burke, the Design Exchange Toronto", Arts Atlantic 63, spring 1999
- Smart, Tom: Artists in a Floating World, The Marion McCain Atlantic Art exhibition, Beaverbrook
Art Gallery, 2000
- Goddard, Peter, "Brian Burke is wickedly funny", Toronto Star, 10/03/2002
- Mischler, Vera: "Wo sich Bild und Bewegung finden", Solothurner Zeitung, Switzerland 22/4/2002
- Barnard, Elissa: "Masked Images, Words Play on Ambiguity of Burke's Messages", Halifax Herald, 3/2002
- Allard, Nicole: "Les humeurs existentielles de Brian Burke", Le Soleil, Québec City, 15/2/2003
- Bois, Michel: "Rires jaunes et gris", Le Soleil, Québec, 9/2004
- Bois, Michel: "Arts visuels", Le Clap, Québec, 11/2004
- Barnard, Elissa: "Brian Burke has taken to his bed", Chronicle Herald, Halifax, 11/20/2004
- MacKay Mary: "Changing Faces from the Past", The Guardian, Charlottetown, 5/11/2005
- Barnard, Elissa: "Birds Survey Human Folley", Chronicle Herald, Halifax, 11/26/2006
- Lovatt, Tom: Site/Specific/Sight, The Marion McCain Atlantic Art exhibition, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, 2007
- Lloyd, A.J.: Brian Burke - Paintings, Ingram Gallery, 2008
- Holubizky, Ihor: Other Worlds, Summer Group Exhibition, Confederation Centre Art Gallery Charlottetown,
Prince Edward Island, 2009
- Barnard, Cassandra: "It's in the Bank", The Guardian, Charlottetown, PEI January 25, 2010
- Sawler, Harvey: The Centre for All Canadians, book publication, Confederation Centre for the Arts, 2014
- Greer, John: Brian Burke - Echoes, Mai 2015
- Müller, Ingrid: "Burke/Scherer Grounded in their Art", Billie, Undercurrents in Atlantic Canadian Visual
Culture, Beaverbrook 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: RE: collection, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, 2017
- Graff, Terry: "My Memories of Brian Burke", The Guardian, Charlottetown, Dec. 21st 2017
- Cole, Sally: "PEI born artist Brian Burke dies", The Guardian, Charlottetown, Dec. 21st 2017
- Parris, Amanda: In memoriam Canadian artists we lost in 2017, CBC online
- Graff, Terry: "The Artistic Legacy of Brian Burke", The East (East Coast Arts and Culture) online magazine
- Renggli, Arno "Ein Kanadier in Luzern", Luzerner Zeitung, Switzerland 13/09/2018