1011 PASEO DE PERALTA, SANTA FE, NM 87501 | 505.954.5800 | PETERSPROJECTS.COM FOR INQUIRIES: MARK DEL VECCHIO AND AMANDA MALLOY | (505) 954-5748
B I O G R A P H Y
Born in 1937 in Talladega, Alabama as an Indian-African-Scots descendant, Maurice Burns found little educational or artistic opportunity in the Jim Crow era South. In 1949 his family moved to Gary, Indiana where a more welcoming school system encouraged Burns in a pursuit of engineering, in which he excelled. After being drafted during the Vietnam era, and later becoming a wealthy executive at a computer center in Chicago, Burns used a G.I. Bill to study at the Rhode Island School of Design where he studied art, excelling enough to receive a scholarship to the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpting in Maine. After a devastating studio fire in 1972 destroyed most of Burns’ early work, he used the rest of his G.I. Bill along with a scholarship from Skowhegan to study at the Royal College of Art in London, where Burns received a personal invitation to meet with renowned Art Historian Sir Kenneth Clark. It was in London that Burns met and became close friends with the painter R. B. Kitaj. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Kitaj attended the Royal College of Art and spent many years living and working in London. His figurative paintings are electrified by bold movement and color. Though distinctive in their own respective styles, a shared influence can be found between Burns’ and Kitaj’s work. Following graduation, Burns received two Macdowell Colony Fellowships at the Edward MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. In 1975, Burns was invited by John Torres to teach at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Burns has remained ever since. Burns’ work is inspired by his love of music, jazz in particular. Miles Davis, Jimmy Yancy, swinging Harlem nightclubs, Southwestern honky-tonks and Cuban nightclubs are just a few of the subjects of his paintings which are notable for their vibrant color and superb composition. Additionally, some of Burns’ paintings inhabit a liminal, surreal space that includes Native American imagery and dream-like figures that appear to hover on the canvas. Through his exceptional draftsmanship and figurative work, Burns combines his fascination with African imagery with his love of the Southwestern desert landscape. Burns work has been shown at: Royal College of Art, London, I.A.I.A. in Santa Fe, NM, The Fine Arts Museum of New Mexico, the Albuquerque Museum of Art, New Mexico, and Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was included in the 1977 book Black Artists of the New Generation by Elton Fax, and has been featured in the following publications: Santa Fe Art, Davenport’s Art Reference, Santa Fe Arts Journal, and THE Magazine.
MAURICE BURNS
BLUES FOR LINDA, 1989-1993 OIL ON CANVAS 56 1/4 X 76 X 1 1/2 INCHES
NOTES TO MYSELF, 1989-1993 OIL ON CANVAS 56 X 68 X 1 1/2 INCHES
ILLEGAL, 2018 OIL ON CANVAS 56 X 76 X 1 1/2 INCHES
THEORY OF COMPLEX VARIABLES (BLUE MILES), 2018 OIL ON CANVAS 56 X 76 X 1 1/2 INCHES
MONK’S MOOD, 2013-2014 OIL ON CANVAS DIPTYCH: 60 X 96 INCHES A: 60 X 48 INCHES B: 60 X 48 INCHES
THE DANCERS, 2015 OIL ON CANVAS 56 X 76 X 1 1/2 INCHES
WARRIOR’S CUP, 1993-2018 OIL ON CANVAS 76 X 55 3/4 X 1 1/2 INCHES
VARIOUS FORMS OF ASSOCIATION, 1989 OIL ON CANVAS 55 3/4 X 75 3/4 X 1 1/2 INCHES
GALISTEO FANTASY, 1989-1993 OIL ON CANVAS DIPTYCH: 56 X 119 1/4 X 1 1/2 INCHES A: 56 X 76 1/4 X 1 1/2 INCHES B: 56 X 43 X 1 1/2 INCHES
JIMMY YANCEY (QUADTYCH), 2013 OIL ON CANVAS 30 X 30 X 1 1/2 INCHES (EACH)
CALLEJON DE HAMEL (HAVANA, CUBA), 2016 OIL ON CANVAS 56 X 76 X 1 1/2 INCHES
A LETTER FROM HOME, 1989 OIL ON CANVAS 55 3/4 X 76 X 1 1/2 INCHES
T I M E L I N E
1937
Born in Talladega, Alabama to Ruby Goins and Maurice Burns
1949
Moves to Gary, Indiana where father works as a bricklayer
1955-60
Graduates Gary Roosevelt High School, Gary, Indiana, Attends Purdue University studying
Engineering, drops out after three years to work with his father as a bricklayer
1960-63
Drafted into the US Army and sent to Fort Leonard Wood, is discharged after three years
1963-69
Works various jobs in the technology industry, eventually achieves an executive position in
computer systems department, Chicago City College
1969
Leaves Chicago City College position and through the GI Bill attends
Rhode Island School of Design
1972
Graduates from RISD with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, studio burns down destroying all early
work, uses remaining GI Bill and scholarship from the Skowhegan School of Painting and
Sculpture to attend the Royal College of Art in London
1974
Graduates the Master’s Program in Art from the Royal College of Art, returns to the
United States to accept two consecutive MacDowell Fellowships
1975
At the invitation of John Torres, teaches at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe,
New Mexico, establishes a studio and residence and teaches painting at local college
1979
Begins working in the New Mexico Film Industry, designing and painting sets
1992
Receives a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
2018
First major solo exhibition celebrating over 30 years of work at Peters Projects, Santa Fe
C U R R I C U L U M
V I T A E
EDUCATION 1972 1974
Rhode Island School of Design - Bachelor of Fine Arts Royal College of Art - Master of Fine Arts
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 1972 1974 1975 1990 2013 2017 2018
Solo exhibition at Woods Gerry Gallery at the Rhode Island School of Design Exhibition at the Royal College of Art, London Southwest Fine Arts Biennial, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico Solo exhibition at Cloud Cliff Art Space, Santa Fe, New Mexcio “Maurice Burns: Outside the System” Eggman & Walrus, Santa Fe, New Mexico “Maurice Burns: A Vibrant Refrain” Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico “Various Forms of Association” Peters Projects, Santa Fe, New Mexico
GRANTS, AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS 1972 1974 1992
Scholarship from the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture Received two MacDowell Colony Fellowships in Peterborough, New Hampshire Pollack-Krasner Grant Recipient
PUBLICATIONS 1977 1990 1993 2013 2017
Black Artists of the New Generation, “Maurice Burns” (p. 1-18), Elton C. Fax “Maurice Burns, Portrait of An Artist” The Santa Fe New Mexican (p. 16-17), Simone Ellis Santa Fe Art, “Contemporary Santa Fe and Taos Art” (p. 86, 93), Simone Ellis “Maurice Burns: Outside the System” The Magazine (p. 53), Jon Carver “In the Studio with…Maurice Burns” Santa Fe Arts Journal, Emily Van Cleve
1011 PASEO DE PERALTA, SANTA FE, NM 87501 | 505.954.5800 | PETERSPROJECTS.COM FOR INQUIRIES: MARK DEL VECCHIO AND AMANDA MALLOY | (505) 954-5748