Christopher Burk

Billboard Dusk 1

2019

Represented by George Billis' Gallery in NYC. Realism as a style has basically remained unchanged since the Renaissance. Realism as a technique, however, has definitely been alter...

Represented by George Billis Gallery NYC. In my work I explore family objects as “families” of objects—individual silver heirlooms that are related to one another in a single collec...

My paintings begin with a serious sense of play, both in the staging and the creating of the compositions. It is at this beginning stage that I operate under the Dadaist dictate that “anything can be art”, and at the same time I seek out a balanced and harmonious composition by way of line, shape, and color. I work according to my whimsy, sometimes seeking to assert some form of narrative however personal or ambiguous, and other times I am simply satisfied with the hint of a human presence. Once I have my compositions the paintings then very quickly become about work, a very labor intensive work that forces me to focus my mind and slow things down (which I feel is relevant especially in this day and age of high-speed everything). A great amount of effort is spent on trying to get to the highest level of finish that is possible according to my current skill level. For inspiration I have drawn from the past four centuries of object specific paintings, from the ontbijtjes (laid tables) of the 17th Century Dutch masters such as Willem Kalf, Jan Davidsz de Heem, Abraham van Beijeren...

My paintings begin with a serious sense of play, both in the staging and the creating of the compositions. It is at this beginning stage that I operate under the Dadaist dictate that “anything can be art”, and at the same time I seek out a balanced and harmonious composition by way of line, shape, and color. I work according to my whimsy, sometimes seeking to assert some form of narrative however personal or ambiguous, and other times I am simply satisfied with the hint of a human presence. Once I have my compositions the paintings then very quickly become about work, a very labor intensive work that forces me to focus my mind and slow things down (which I feel is relevant especially in this day and age of high-speed everything). A great amount of effort is spent on trying to get to the highest level of finish that is possible according to my current skill level. For inspiration I have drawn from the past four centuries of object specific paintings, from the ontbijtjes (laid tables) of the 17th Century Dutch masters such as Willem Kalf, Jan Davidsz de Heem, Abraham van Beijeren...

This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. Contemporary figurative painter Andrew S. Conklin creates a co...

This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. Contemporary figurative painter Andrew S. Conklin creates a co...

Le Pipe, is an original oil painting on panel. It is framed in a handmade, black frame with pale gold lip. The overall dimensions with the frame included are approximately 12x10.5 inches. A master of Trompe l'oeil, the artist here has depicted an antique smoking pipe...

Le Pot de Confiture is an original oil painting on panel. It is framed in a handmade, black frame with gold lip. The overall dimensions of the framed piece are approximately, 14x16 inches. Master Still Life painter Dale Zinkowski was born in New York and his earliest memories of painting and drawing were from his Grandfather's own work, which hung throughout the home. Fascinated by the world around him, and the ability to capture fleeting moments on paper, he began to draw and paint from nature almost exclusively. ​From 1993-97, he attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he studied the Reilly method with both Marvin Mattelson and John F. Murray. Inspired by the techniques, and hungry for more information, he began copying from the old masters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  ​When Murray moved his studio to Tucson, Arizona, Dale followed and focused his studies on the palettes, methods, and materials of artists such as Velazquez and Rembrandt.  ​In 2012, Dale attended the Florence Academy of Art in Italy, where he pushed his understanding of traditional techniques and materials even further while drawing and painting master copies in museums and painting landscapes in the countryside.  ​In 2013, Dale returned to New York City, where he immersed himself in the full-time program at Grand Central Atelier studying under Jacob Collins, Ted Minoff, Will St. John and Colleen Barry...