Studio Visit: Laura Burke
Laura Burke’s Springtime Art Show, So Be It at Chefas Projects
Grounded in memory, myth, and the magic of the everyday, Laura Burke’s artwork has spoken to us at Shop Boswell for years. Her newest collection will be on view at Portland’s Chefas Projects from April 10 through May 9. We had the pleasure of chatting with Laura about creativity, grief, flowers, and, of course, clothing.
Shop Boswell: Do you have a daily creative practice outside of the art we know and love?
Laura Burke: I wouldn’t say it’s a daily practice, but I do love embroidery. I picked it up during the pandemic, and it’s proven to a beloved standby. I really enjoy mindless repetitive work. My painting and drawing practice have always been very fast. I make quickly and often. Embroidery is painstakingly slow. I like that it forces me to produce one square inch an hour.
SB: Your work feels grounded at home – in kitchens, gardens, hallways – do you draw inspiration from your own home? The homes of others? From imagined homes?
LB: When I lived in New York, I was always wishing that I was somewhere that I wasn’t. If I was commuting to the studio, all I wanted was to be there already. If I had a day off at home, I was plotting my next expedition outward. My apartments were only ever idyllic in hindsight; while I lived in them, they were awful. My paintings take on that same longing-to-be-elsewhere quality. All the rooms that could be personified as indoors are permeable, made-up. My interior spaces are exemplary and non-functional. That could be seen as grounded in home, but it feels more akin to ungrounded in fantasy.
SB: You work at Shop Boswell from time to time. Do those work days offer any creative inspiration, or do they feel more like a respite, or a time to rest that side of your brain?
LB: It’s a combination! I live a fairly boring life of going to the studio, cooking dinner, wash-rinse-repeat. If it weren’t for my days at Shop Boswell I would cease to be socialized, kind of like a dog. I really enjoy talking to people, and if I only painted all day, my interaction would be limited to my cats and boyfriend. On top of the human interaction, I gain access to an artistic world that I otherwise would only love from afar. I love clothes. I love helping people find clothes that they love. And I love hearing how the designers think of their clothing. So many of the designers curated in Shop Boswell have a fine art background, and you can feel that in their attention to detail.
SB: Given your training as a printmaker, we’re thinking a lot about the commonality between print production and clothing production. They’re both iterative practices – beginning as a design and then produced in multiples. Do any other crossovers between the two come to mind?
LB: The first thing that comes to mind is layering. When making a print, whether it’s intaglio, screen printing, or litho, each color is its own matrix. The final image is constructed from these various matrices layered on top of one another to produce a final image. That same concept holds true for an outfit. It makes me think of Auralee’s ethos for their spring line- a series of specific fabrics constructed to be layered and removed as the day grows warmer.
SB: You have a solo show coming up at Chefas Gallery. Can you tell us about the collection that will be showing?
LB: The title of the show is So Be It, and it centers on the progression of seasons as a metaphor for grief. I’m showing the innate magic in this natural cycle. It’s eleven oil paintings and four drawings that reference both art history (I was strongly influenced by Botticelli’s portraits, Mary Fedden’s still lifes, and Pierre Bonnard’s landscapes) while also gleaning influence from Dante’s Inferno and Kunz’s The Curious Lore of Precious Stones.
SB: We love the depiction of flowers throughout your work. What are some of your favorites? Can you catch any of them blooming in Portland any time soon?
LB: I love daffodils and rhododendrons. The daffodils have been going off early this year, but I’ve only seen one rhodie bloom so far. My parents’ backyard is a personal rhododendron test garden, and I’ve missed the blooms every year since 2018. It was almost worth moving back to Portland to finally catch the show.
You can check out Laura's work on instagram here.
The opening for her springtime show is Friday, April 10th 5-8 pm. More information at Chefas Projects.