Art Island S1E2: Tom Burrows - Sculptor

Video Description

In Episode 2 of ART ISLAND, we meet artist Tom Burrows in his handmade Downes Point home. Tom’s practice – which over 50 years has encompassed poly-resin colour fields, abstract sculpture, and designing and building unconventional dwellings – has become canon in Canadian art. He shares insights into his storied career and the legacy of 1970's counterculture on both his own work and society today. Tom's humble admiration for the artist Eva Hesse, continuing connection to contemporary art through his assistant Yasmine Whaley-Kalaora, and the fundamental tenet that ideas can be carried timelessly, can all be found in his own work and life today: striving for the freedom to live, and the freedom to build. Historical Note: The Maplewood Mudflats in North Vancouver, BC, was the intertidal site of a squat community between the 1950s and 1970s where artists, hippies, and outsiders built and lived in stilt houses. Burrows built his own home and lived in the community for two years until the settlement was burned down by order of the District of North Vancouver in 1971. [About Tom Burrows] Tom Burrows is an internationally-recognized artist whose primary medium is cast pigment polymer resin. His current practice focuses on colour fields, which play with opacity and surface texture to give the illusion of a panel lit from within. Burrows received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Sociology from the University of British Columbia in 1967, and continued post-graduate studies in sculpture at St. Martin's School of Art, London, England until 1969. He has held solo exhibitions in London, Tokyo, Berlin, New York, and across Canada. The artist's work is held in private, corporate, and public collections across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Most recently, his polymer resin works were acquired for the permanent collection of Canada House in Trafalgar Square, London, and the HBC Global Art Collection in New York. Tom Burrows lives and works between Hornby Island and Vancouver, BC. [Art Island: Perspectives from a Creative Community] Who are the individuals that comprise the vibrant artistic community of Hornby Island? This 10-episode docu-series looks into the personal lives and artistic perspectives of local artists — our community members. Expanding on how they became artists, what inspires their art, challenges they've encountered, and how they persevered, Art Island is a deep dive into why artists feel art is important and how it has the power to affect us all. [Credits] Director & Cinematographer - Zsofin Sheehy Associate Producer - Emma Walter Assistant Director - Kris Krüg Location Sound - Liam Wheatley Sound Mix & Design - Nick Kold Title Animation - Grigorii Kniagnitskii Colour - Bogdan Mykytenko Music: Max Earchuck Stefan Kartenberg Los Amparito Doctor Dreamchip Jahzzar Trans Atlantic Rage Plasticine Cowboy Crowander Gregor Quendel Images courtesy of: Bau-Xi Gallery Tom Burrows Fonds, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia Tom Burrows Elisha Burrows Rachel Topham Photography Michael R. Barrick Jerry Williams Bob Cain Bo Helliwell Michael McNamara Rob Corder Trevor Patt Josh Burrows Rick Morritt Gina Tessaro Marisa Kringwiwat Holmes For more episodes follow the links below: E1: Alina Milek https://youtu.be/u5-n4XdVSQ4 E2: Tom Burrows https://youtu.be/k2BPlQqOtIU E3: Moragh Eilish https://youtu.be/bppRinCPz5w E4: Michelle Nyberg https://youtu.be/nIseYBYmm4c E5: Tony Wilson https://youtu.be/aJiRsuDWsDU E6: Alpen Kelley https://youtu.be/JyMJQkb1y3w E7: Gordon Payne https://youtu.be/2iRYHenx7ZE E8: Elaine Savoie https://youtu.be/IkWxsShEl5g E9: Tom Knott https://youtu.be/cjT4-BjVkz8 New episodes coming soon — Subscribe to stay in the loop and watch more videos. Thank you Dr. Andrew Mark for helping this project come to life by visioning and securing funding. This project is supported by funding from Canada Council for the Arts and British Columbia Arts Council. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode ©2023