Art, of the best sort, is about the way it makes us think, it is as human as it gets. Essentially all visual expression is the artist’s physical manifestation of thought; immaterial of materials used. The most important medium is the artist’s intention.
My visual art starts with words. I usually begin a new piece with the words of an overheard phrase, or something I read. And then I whirl it around in that part of my monkey mind, which clings, to snatches of songs; I rework and rephrase the phrase. I become obsessed with the dance of language.
I visualize the rhythms and cadences of the words as a rough physical poetry: barbed wire is both protecting and excluding, carving stones are blazing color and fragile danger, broken glass is slick and sharp.
I usually manage to lace barbed-wire into and through as many works as possible. This stylistic medium has become one of my signature materials (heralding my Texas roots), along with the broken colored glass.
My approach to making art is all media inclusive; so my methods are always changing and adapting to working with dissimilar materials.
I constantly challenge myself to continue learning new methods and adapting traditional materials in unexpected ways by combining them with non-art and discarded materials that have had a previous life.
My work flirts at the edge of dark satire, using materials both high-dollar and low-dumpster with equal reverence. I use the fragmentary and jarring beauty of recycled materials to provoke and rebuke a world driven by greed and materialism.
Anyone can create art; and neither wealth nor connections are prerequisites of talent. I believe in my art and talent or I wouldn’t be doing it.
I am dedicated to the constant learning and honing of my skills, to experimenting with techniques and mediums, and continuing to produce the finest work I am capable of, with or without accolades.
Deborah’s work is held in private collections in the following cities:
California: Atascadero, Beverly Hills, Crocket, Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, Malibu, Menlo Park, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria
Texas: Austin, Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Irving, Houston
Massachusetts: Boston
Indiana: Evansville
Washington DC
England, UK: London & Bristol
The Artist’s Biography and Exhibitions history are combined in tab form, where available and updated continually; as a visual tour of how life effects the artist subject matter, mediums, output, and then occasionally manifests in public exhibitions of those works.
Exhibition: Shapes & Shades
work: Line in the Sand ©2009; original photography and mixed media sculptural Frame
Morro Bay Art Association Gallery
Morro Bay CA, June 4- July 5th, 2009
As encouragement to a coworker to exhibit art in a juried photography exhibition, Deborah printed and readied for exhibition her photography for the first time.
Previously only using photography as inspiration and preparatory for other art forms, this first public sharing of what had been years of solo photography practice revolutionized Burge’s presented artistic-output to include all media previously kept hidden from public consumption.
Consequently this willingness to go public with her photo-practice resulted in the intense self-portrait series BUSTED; coming soon to this site and in viral form around the world.
Juried Exhibition: Art For The Bridge
work: Steel Magnolias ©2004
Mixed media wall-mount sculpture
The Texas Women’s Museum [division of The Smithsonian]
Dallas, Texas, September 2008
The Texas Women’s Museum generously allowed the artist’s mom an un-supervised tour of the Museum while closed to the public.
This particular event ran a full-page exhibition announcement in Art News (an international art magazine) and attracted the attention of Deb who on a whim entered the juried competition as a way to reach back to her home state with her on-going charity efforts, and Steel Magnolias ©2004 was chosen to exhibit in this very prestigious event; which helps raise the costs of medical treatment for uninsured breast cancer patients in North Texas.
Deborah donates art to charity events each year with emphasis on women’s health issues.
Incidentally Deb had just started working at an e-commerce company and in order to participate in this event had to take the time off from work, without pay (scrooge inc. did not support charity activities), to travel and attend in Dallas Texas.
Billionaires enjoy meeting artists when they attend Charity Art Auctions and Artist attendance, while not mandatory, is appreciated.
This was a total charity event from art-work to attendance. But Deb says she “enjoyed pinning her ridiculous barbed wire pink ribbon-sculptures to and therefore poking holes into some very nice hand-made Italian suits”.
The Art of Central Coast
-Central Coast Magazine Invitational Exhibition
14 mixed media sculptures and one oil painting
Grover Beach, California, December 15, 2005
This invitational exhibition resulted in Deborah designing and building the self-lighted display walls with shelves to hold the brat sculptures and table-top sized sculptures, featured in this show.
During show prep Deborah hosted visiting Indiana artist Julie Byzynski who helped build the walls and mount the show, and also became a collector by purchasing Goldie-locks after the show.
Then ms Byzynski was involved in the Indiana art-exhibition appropriation of the copyrighted title ‘Mardi-Bra’ (copyright 2003 Mardi-Bra -mixed-media bra sculpture by Deborah Burge), to use for an exhibition titled “Mardi-Bras” in 2011. We are uncertain of the legalities of that appropriation.
Sculpture 2005 -Juried Exhibition
First Place Cash Award, Mixed media sculpture – Slo Gigi ©2005
San Luis Obispo Art Center, SLO, CA: July 16th – August 14th 2005
Dimensions 2004 -Juried Exhibition
Mixed media sculpture – Mardi Bra ©2003
San Luis Obispo Art Center, SLO, CA: June 19th – July 25th 2004
Muscular Dystrophy Association’s –Special Charity Auction
For research for the Cure of Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Mixed media sculptural Painting – S.M.A.ll Rainbow ©2003
The Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX: September 13, 2003
Release 03: Fashion, Food, Wine and Art -Invitational group show
6 mixed media bra sculptures, and 1 sculptural painting executed for the show: Glassectomy ©2003
Edna Valley Vineyard, SLO, CA: October 19th 2003
Special Charity Auction to benefit the Kurt Vavra family
Mixed media sculpture – Inaudible Memory ©2003
Special one-woman show by commission / auction for proceeds to benefit widow and children
San Luis Obispo Art Center, SLO, CA: February 1st – March 3rd 2003
Magnum Opus 2002 Invitational group theme show
Mixed media sculpture – Grape Juice 2 ©2002
San Luis Obispo Art Center, SLO, CA: June 25th – July 7th 2002
And The Central Coast Wine Classic: July 8th – 13th Avila Beach Resort, SLO, CA.
Think Art 2001 Calendar – Featuring the art of Deborah Burge
Omega Printing Company Limited Edition Calendar
2906 W. Story Road, Irving, TX: Year 2001 corporate promotion
Dimensions: Fine Craft and Sculpture 25th Annual Juried Exhibition
Mixed media sculpture – Bra Issues ©2001
San Luis Obispo Art Center, SLO, CA: June 30th – August 5th 2001
Trash and Treasure -Juried exhibition group show
Mixed media sculpture – Neglect ©1997
San Luis Obispo Art Center, SLO, CA: October 17th – November 5th 2000
Women of Passion -Invitational group show
Deborah Burge, with Dorothy Riggs, Heidi Harmon and Joanne Ruggles
4 mixed media sculptures – large scale
San Luis Obispo Art Center, SLO, CA: February 2000
The Bra Show -Juried exhibition group show
Mixed Media Sculpture – Underwire ©1999
Art Lives Here Gallery, San Luis Obispo, CA: September 30th – November 31st 1999
From the Waist Up -Juried exhibition group show
Painting – Silver Rain ©1988
Art Lives Here Gallery, San Luis Obispo, CA: July 31st – August 29th 1999
artist/sojourner, London England UK 1996/97
Deborah Burge One Woman Exhibition
The Minds Eye Gallery, Dallas, TX. August-September, 1995
Gallery Artist
Continuous and rotating displays of paintings and mixed media sculptures: 1994-95
The Mind’s Eye Gallery, Dallas, TX
The Angel Show
Mixed media sculptures – Whispering Hands ©1994, Five Wire Angels all ©1994
The Mind’s Eye Gallery, Dallas, TX. December 1st 1993 – February 1st 1994
One Woman Exhibition -by special invitation of Ann Richards
Texas State Treasury Building, Austin, TX. June-July 1989
(child/sub-pages of this page) STILL TO COME
1) combo Chronology/Biography instead of Exhibitions/Awards but containing that same information. STILL TO COME
2) Gone Missing- works I am obviously searching for along with any photos of those that I have. STILL TO COME
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