Ostentatious Affliction will feature the latest work from J.B. Burke in the Milliken Art Gallery. Burke’s drawings express the language of excess and consequence. “We interact with food intimately- we consume it, we digest it, and we internalize it in multiple senses. Food defines ordinary life and special occasions alike. It can create pleasure and provoke shame. It becomes a vehicle for stories that investigate the body, identity, gender, community, the domestic, the sacramental, economics, politics, and the environment. These drawings use the saccharine sweet colors of carnival cotton candy to underscore the implied threat,” states Burke.
Born in Wichita, Kansas, Jessica Burke (J.B.) is a figurative artist and educator that earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She is an Associate Professor of Art and Foundations Coordinator at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. As an artist working in both traditional and digital drawing media, she is interested in the effect of popular culture on identity. Her drawings have been published in highly selective contemporary art publications that include Manifest’s International Drawing Annual (INDA) 13 and in North Light Book’s Strokes of Genius 9: The Best of Drawing. She will also have work published in the 2nd Edition of the textbook, Art for Everyone by University Press in January 2022.
Burke will present a Gallery Talk on January 26th at 6:00 pm in the gallery, followed by a reception from 6:30-8:00 pm.
Ostentatious Affliction will run from January 5-26, 2023.
The exhibition is located in the Milliken Art Gallery and is free of charge. Gallery hours are Sunday 2:00-5:00 pm, Monday – Friday 9:00 am-5:00 pm. The Gallery is closed during university holidays.