Artist Statement

In 2006 I began a series of large-scale oil paintings based upon the small action figures that I played with as a boy. I remember these figures as being magnificent. They represented power, beauty, good and evil, and they captured every aspect of my imagination. As a young adult, these toys are wonderfully nostalgic, but they're no longer amazing to me. The patterns that adorn many of the canvases are often taken from fabric, rug or wallpaper patterns from my childhood home. The original toy is often framed in a shadowbox attached to the painting, acting as a modern reliquary for these figurines. The ineffability of what can turn a cheap yet coveted piece of plastic into an almost talismanic object was the original inspiration for this work. I am also motivated by the amorphous line that is drawn between imagination and reality, childhood wonder and adult practicality. There is an obvious irony in spending hundreds of hours to create a single painting that glorifies a cheap, mass-produced toy. And while that irony could reflect issues of commodity fetishism, consumer addiction, Peter Pan Syndrome or even shallow idolatry, I want these paintings to represent something positive in my life. Although it was sheltered and naive, there was a freedom in my childhood. It was free from the politics of race and sex and religion. It was free from the weight of history. It was free from rhetoric and paranoia, shame and regret, cynicism and despair. There is nothing profound about commenting on the minor tragedy of losing one's innocence, or the struggle to maintain one's idealism. I just want to renew my faded sense of awe.


Current & Upcoming Events


STAR WARS KICKSTARTER PROJECT HAS LAUNCHED! CLICK HERE!



SOLO EXHIBITION IN SAN FRANCISCO


Shooting Gallery
May 2013
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 11th, 7-11pm
886 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94109



Solo Exhibitions


2011
"Toy Box" solo show, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008
"Toy Box" solo show, Roq La Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA


Selected Group Exhibitions


2013
"Winter Group Show", Loch Gallery, Toronto, ON
2012
"Toronto International Art Fair" (Loch Gallery), Toronto, ON
2012
"Fun Is The Law!", Parlor Gallery, Asbury, NJ
2012
"Winter Group Show", White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011
"25th Anniversary Masters Exhibition" group show, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011
"Art Official Truth" group show, Project One Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011
"Wasteland" group show, Soap Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010
"Winter Group Show", White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010
"Tiger Tiger Burning Bright" group show, Roq La Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA
2010
"As They See It" group show, 941Geary Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2010
"New Territory" group show, White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010
"Under the Influence" group show, Gallery 1988, Los Angeles, CA
2009
"Winter Group Show", White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2009
"Fin" group show, Old Crow Gallery, Oakland, CA
2008
"10 under 30" group show, Sullivan Goss Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2008
"I am 8-Bit" group show, World of Wonder Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008
"Decoy" group show, Lobot Gallery, Oakland, CA
2007
"Another Country" group show, Worth Ryder Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2007
"Summer II" group show, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007
"Cream From the Top" selected group show, Arts Benicia Gallery, Benicia, CA
2007
"Vernissage" SFAI MFA Graduation Exhibition, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
2006
"Immediate Futures" Murphy and Cadogan Fellowship exhibition, SFAC Gallery, San Francisco, CA


Education


2007 MFA San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, California

2005 BFA Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario


Press & Publications


The Electric Playground, Television Interview, January 27, 2012.

Dreamondzine, Los Angeles Exhibition Review (online), December 23, 2011.

Kyle Fitzpatrick, Los Angeles Exhibition Review (online), December 19, 2011.

Jensen Karp, "Under The Influence", G1988 (online), September 22, 2009.

John Herrman, "Blazing Brushes", Gizmodo Feature (online), November 18, 2008.

David Pescovitz, "Robert Burden's Voltron Timelapse Painting", Video Feature, Boing Boing (online), November 14, 2008.

7x7 Magazine, "The Man Show", November 2008.

Chris Ward, "Up Close: Robert Burden", Toyfare magazine, July 2008 #131.

Sean T. Collins, "Figure Painting", Geek Monthly Magazine, May 2008 #15.

Brangien Davis, "Hero Worship", Seattle Magazine, V.17 No.3, March 2008.

Andrew McClintock & Laura Swanson, "Another Country", Exhibition Catalogue, Edition One Studios, 2008.

Sonia Zjawinski, Artist Pays Tribute to His Action-Figure Collection, Wired Magazine (online edition), March 20, 2008.

Richard Bammer, "Top of Their Class", Vacaville Reporter, July 20, 2007.

Rich Freedman, "Cream From The Top", Vallejo Times-Herald, July 15, 2007.

SFAI Communications Office, "MFA Graduate Exhibition Catalogue", Perry/Granger, 2007.


Professional Teaching Experience


2008-2012 San Francisco Art Institute

-Beginner/Intermediate Oil Painting, Portraiture

2011 Pixar Animation Studios

-Intro/Intermediate Oil Painting

Awards & Panel Discussions


2007 "Artists' Forum", Moderated by Kenneth Baker and Glen Helfand, Arts Benicia, CA

2007 Irene Pijoan Memorial Painting Award – The San Francisco Art Institute

2006 Murphy & Cadogan Fellowship Award - The San Francisco Foundation



Lives and works in San Francisco, California