Ian Burke’s work on exhibition at Staithes Gallery

Ian Burke was born in Saltburn and was brought up in Redcar. After studying Fine Art at Newcastle University he followed his father’s footsteps and worked as a labourer on the North Sea oil rigs for two years before continuing his studies at Goldsmith’s College, London.
Formerly a resident of Staithes, he now lives close by on the North York Moors and the village continues to inspire him. Many of his strong, unsentimental images depict its boats and buildings and the fishing industry which remains at the heart of this community.
Ian is a dedicated teacher of art who takes great pride in nurturing new talent. He has taught in various comprehensive schools throughout the country, as well as at Rugby School and Eton College where he is now Head of Art.

Exhibitions include:

Royal Academy: Summer Show and Young Contemporaries Exhibitions
Eton College
Zillah Bell Gallery, Thirsk
Montage Gallery, Castleton
Shepherd’s Market, Mayfair, London.

In 2013 two of Ian’s prints were selected to hang in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.  The following year his large painting Glut was also selected.  In 2015 another pair of prints: Big Dog and 30 Years Old were well received there, both runs selling out during the course of the exhibition.

From August 2012 to August 2013 Ian worked on a collaborative project with photographer Anthony Hutchinson who made a photo-essay in Staithes in 1970 as part of his photography degree at North London Polytechnic. His bleak and beautiful black and white images are an astonishing record of a harsh yet enduring way of life. Ian developed the images to create a beautiful series of paintings and prints, at once homage to the photographs themselves but also the world they recorded and to its inhabitants past and present.

His most recent solo exhibition What I Did on My Holidays in our satellite Sunday School Gallery was a highly acclaimed part of Staithes Festival in September 2016.  For this show Ian experimented with watercolour to great acclaim.  See the following enthusiastic review of the exhibition:

http://www.whitbygazette.co.uk/news/local/what-sir-gets-up-to-during-the-holidays-1-8097539

The newer work is listed at the bottom of the gallery so scroll down to view Ian’s recent paintings and prints.

Click here to see more examples of Ian’s work on his own website