Notism has given Burkhardt’s work and name a unique cachet in the art world, through his use of oils, mixed media and “distressed-paper” collages as a metaphor for the beauty to be found in various states of human distress. Born and raised in Michigan, the now bicoastal Burkhardt was a major creative force on Madison Avenue before turning to conceptual art full-time.
Burkhardt believes his abstract art was born out of experiencing attention deficit disorder as a child. “I think my work has such unusual range because I’m so easily distracted. I always have several paintings going at once,” he reveals.
Burkhardt likes to use what he calls “explosive, high-voltage colors and gestural scrawls” in his work, which also reflect his rapidly shifting state of mind. “It’s the blessing and the curse of being an artist with ADD, I suppose,” he says with a laugh.
And Burkhardt’s penchant for art may have even deeper roots—roots undiscovered until later on in his career. “I found out later that my great-great grandparents were both artists,” the artist says. “One was a poet and the other an early expressionist painter in the mid-19th century—very raw, radical stuff, so it’s always been in the DNA, you could say.”
Coast to Coast Shows:
Paul Fisher Gallery Marion Meyer Contemporary Art
West Palm Beach, FL Laguna Beach, CA
561.832.5255 949.497.5442
www.notism.com
