San Marco Night, Venice, Italy, 2012

This image was made from the Piazzetta looking towards Piazza San Marco; the principal public square of Venice, Italy. On the left is the clock tower with St Mark’s basilica to the right. What’s always interested me about this space, and the motivation behind this image, is the theatrical presence of its architecture when illuminated at night. There’s this sense of preparedness in the way each surface is illuminated – as if something big is about to happen or show is about to begin. With that analogy in mind, I stood atop one of the Acqua Alta platforms left over from the day before and began making a series of 5 minute exposures until the sun came up behind me that morning.

– David Burdeny

David Burdeny initiated his career with the Jennifer Kostuik Gallery in 2001 and has been exhibiting his images from the world over, including Antarctica, Iceland, Brazil, China, Burma, Cambodia, France, Italy, Canada and the USA. Known for his finely composed photographs, Burdeny has spent the past 25 years exploring a variegated photographic Landscape ranging from minimal seascapes, ornate European interiors to abstract aerial images. Widely collected in Canada, the USA, Asia and Europe, the sheer beauty of David’s images has firmly placed him within the realm of Canada’s most sought after photo-based artists. Burdeny has an innate curiosity for new subjects and themes, producing over 20 themed photographic series. Be it mounting a camera beneath a self-built drone, shooting from the deck of an Antarctic bound icebreaker, or waiting for an ocean tide to advance, he faithfully embeds his own formal signature into each and every image, further expressing a life long passion for the built environment and the camera’s interpretation of it.

David Burdeny’s Masters in Architecture and Interior Design background combined with his upbringing in the vast Canadian prairies provides the template for his keen technical ability, enduring patience and minimalist aesthetic.