Traverse, 2013
David Burdeny: back to Artist
Artist Statement
This past year, I found myself in the privileged position of working in China, Burma, Cambodia, and Hawaii, traversing across a varied landscape of urban and rural environments. The resulting photographs are a response to my personal sense of wonder about these places, and their inhabitants. Less a linear narrative and more a catalogue of singular moments, this series emphasizes the instant where light, form, texture and colour come together on a particular day.
Working from first light, to dusk and beyond, I was searching for experiences that were, through my eyes, beautiful or profound: a city shrouded in morning fog, a full moon illuminating the ocean, blue evenings, golden mornings, and a lone sailor on the ocean.
Traverse represents the culmination of a decade of photographic experimentation. These new images remain contemplative, and expand upon the formal and natural themes that I have investigated in previous bodies of work. Sky, water, lengthy exposures, atmosphere and vacant space form the underpinnings of these photographs, while the human form gains greater prominence.
This body of work marks a new and profound way of image making for me. The complexities of international travel, combined with the increased rarity of my favored film stock, forced me to experiment on a large scale with a completely digital workflow. The updated optical formulas (with a high-resolution digital back) interpret light with the utmost clarity, but more importantly for me, it does so with immediacy. Many of these images were acquired hand-held, in confined or moving space such as boats, helicopters, ultra light aircraft, and wobbly teak bridges – areas previously off limits to a large format, tripod-mounted camera.
For the first time in many years, I was less of an observer and more of a participant. As such, my attention was diverted away from operating a camera, and towards the experiences, weather, and people around me. I was once again working in the moment; my intentions being to convey a small fragment of how those moments can be beautiful.
Artist Biography
Vancouver, Canada, based David Burdeny has exhibited with the Jennifer Kostuik Gallery since 2001, showcasing 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, David Burdeny has spent the past 20 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. David’s willingness to take risks, eschew dogma and continuously pursue his innate curiosity for new subjects and themes has become a signature element in his work. 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, David faithfully imbeds his own formal signature into each and every image further expressing a lifelong passion for the built environment and the camera’s interpretation of it. Distinctly David Burdeny, the photographs are rigorous yet graceful, inviting the viewer to form their own narrative as if they too were passing through space or gazing into the horizon for the very first time.
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. Recently moving from using large format film to now the finest available digital cameras and precision optics, his images are rendered large and detailed. A Bright Future- Photographs of Russian Subways, Theaters and Palaces 2015 received an explosion of media interest, especially in the UK and Russia. Burdeny was in New York City to receive his First Place Award from IPA for Avata Metro Station, St. Petersburg, Russia in the Category of Historic Architecture, and was interviewed for the most recent articles for The Guardian UK and Wired publications amongst several others. In 2012, the Ancora Series of 2010 was exhibited at the Centre for Photographic Art, Carmel CA, Curated by Richard Gadd. Burdeny has won several gold awards in international art photography competitions, most significantly receiving International Photographer of the Year in the Nature category for Canada, revealed at the Lucie Awards Ceremony in New York City, October 2008. His first book Shorelines sold out in both the limited collector edition and trade publication. He has 10 Limited Edition Photographic Series currently offered and is represented by other art dealers in Canada, the USA and Europe. His second hard cover book is A Bright Future, 2015 with text by esteemed writer and translator, Rosamund Bartlett.
Pricing
Loose Print Pricing
21 x 21 inches – $3,200
21 x 26 inches – $3,300
32 x 32 inches – $6,300
32 x 40 inches – $6,600
44 x 44 inches – $7,800
44 x 55 inches – $8,000
59 x 59 inches – Price Upon Request
59 x 73.5 inches – Price Upon Request