Exhibition Dates: November 4 – December 23, 2006
Opening Reception with Artist: Thursday November 2 , 5-8 PM
For over 20 years Robert Burley has been exploring the presence of nature within North American cities. Each project has been an investigation of the physical landscape as a transition between city and country: The “Don Valley” (1980-84) investigates a natural ravine used as an urban transportation corridor. “O’Hare Airfield” (1984-89) surveys a flat, mid-western prairie adapted to an infrastructure for human flight. “Viewing Olmsted” (1990-96) explores the sculpted earthworks of a nineteenth century landscape architect who created pastoral parks within the confines of densely populated cities.
Burley’s most recent photographs scrutinize another edge of the city by looking outward from the shorelines along the Great Lakes. Using a large format camera and long exposures in the light of early dawn, his images examine the places where land, water and sky meet. Burley’s large-scale photographs break down the tangible properties of deep space and are altered by the effects of time. Created on the shores of Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior, these contemplative views offer visual relief to the eye, address the formal issues of rendering space and speak to the artist’s relationship with these sites.
This series began as a commission through the Art-at-Work Program in 2002 and received funding from the Ontario Arts Council and Ryerson University. Robert Burley has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world and is included in numerous public and private collections.
