Sacred And Secular, 2009
David Burdeny: back to Artist
Artist Statement
Sacred and Secular is an ongoing series of photographs that depict urban edge conditions and built environments throughout the world. In the course of Western architecture and urbanism there is a long history attached to the Ideal, Visionary and the Fantastic as notions to create built space. This lineage is studied from a distant vantage point at the cities edge – looking out and looking in. Taken across the globe, the locations of the images are often distant in latitude, typology and syntax. Commencing with the category defying works of 21ts century “Starchitects” and including recent or ancient manifestations in Dubai, Egypt, China, Japan Greenland, Antarctica, Europe and Canada.
Inspired by my personal experiences as a traveler the images serve to illustrate the often unpredictable link between intention and perception – implying that memory and experience play significant roles in our ability to perceive and thus give meaning to the world around us.
Printed as large format prints, they share a formal device of implied pathways or literal axis of movements between each image. Each edge condition photographed can be, metaphorically speaking, read as the DNA for whatever city/settlement is contained within the image. Earth, air and water are rendered large and neutral – an infinite field on which we build and transform the landscape. Conversely that which we build is depicted as thin, delicate, sometimes cumbersome and without beginning or end.
The images are photographed with an 8”x10” view camera and printed as chromogenic color prints, Each image offers a finely grained density of visual information, rendered in the broad range of tonality only made possible by the 8”x10” inch transparency, Transmounted to Plexiglass the photographs are printed large – thereby welcoming the viewer to experience them from afar and at nose length.
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 26 inches – $3,300
32 x 40 inches – $6,600
44 x 55 inches – $8,000
59 x 73.5 inches – Price Upon Request
1070 Homer Street,
Vancouver, BC, V6B 2W9, Canada
T. 604.737.3969
E. info@kostuikgallery.com