Michael Burnett
Artist Statement
Looking for answers with Joan
I had a dream.
I was in Joan Mitchell’s studio in France watching her paint. She asked me about one area of her current work and so I tried to offer some constructive criticism. Clearly not appreciating the feedback she snapped at me and shouted, ‘You do it then!’
The dream was so vivid that, after 10 years of not painting, I was moved to take her message to heart. I have found Joan and her work to be the motivating force, directing me back to find a creative path in my own work.
What I admire most in her work is the freedom of her mark making and the liquid gesture that evokes a sense of place and emotion.
As a starting point I tried literally to recreate some of her best works from the 50’s. I realized very quickly how impossible her style is to emulate but this practice offered a springboard to shed some of my own inhibition and at the very least get me back to painting.
Selected Exhibitions
2022 2 Artist Exhibit, Space Gallery, Denver, Co
2007-2008 3 artist exhibit, Blink Gallery, Boulder, CO
2006-2007 Group exhibit, Gallery 2131, Kansas City, MI
2006-2007 Group exhibit, Artizen Fine Arts, Dallas, TX
2006-2007 2 artist exhibit, Space Gallery, Denver, CO
2004-2005 2 artist exhibit, Space Gallery, Denver, CO
2003-2004 Group Show, Penn Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2003-2004 3 artist exhibit, Studio Aiello, Denver, CO
2003-2004 3 artist exhibit, Space Gallery, Denver, CO
2003-2004 ‘Flesh’, invitational fund-raiser, MOCA, Denver, CO
2003-2004 ‘Raw’, Space Gallery, Denver, CO
2003-2004 ‘Momentum’, Inaugural Show, Fresh Art Gallery, Denver, CO
2002-2003 ‘Untitled’, Group show, Studio Aiello, Denver, CO
2002-2003 Group Show, Space Gallery, Denver, CO
2002-2003 ‘White Show’, Andenken Gallery, Denver, CO
2001-2002 Solo Show, Space Gallery, Denver, CO
2000-2001 ‘Hidden Art’, Open studios run by Hackney City Council, London, UK
1999-2000 Solo Show, Private residence, Edinburgh, Scotland
1999-2000 Joint exhibition in Aid of Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Portuguese Consulate, UK
1999-2000 Scottish Artists and Artist Craftsmen, Annual Exhibition, RSA, Edinburgh, UK
1999-2000 Society of Scottish Artists, Annual Exhibition, RSA, Edinburgh, UK
1998-1999 Scottish Artists and Artist Craftsmen Exhibition, RSA, Perth, UK
1998-1999 Royal Scottish Academy exhibition (RSA), Edinburgh, UK
1998-1999 Solo Show, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, UK
1997-1998 Eastern General Hospital Exhibition, Edinburgh, UK
1997-1998 Scottish Artists and Artist Craftsmen, Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), Edinburgh, UK