David Burke’s paintings are often large scale, fractured landscapes that portray instances where industrial and natural forces coexist harmoniously or collide in destructive ways. Pools of ink recede like oil-saturated waters at low tide. They celebrate our human desire to build, innovate, and create, while acknowledging our compulsion to consume and expand. Burke states that this consumption is eroding the ecological framework that we depend on in order to sustain our wasteful habits. His interests in science, ecology, water conservation, and climate change are woven into the fabric of his paintings that depict the intersection between the human-made and natural worlds.

Burke is the cofounder of the Autobody Bridge Program for emerging Bay Area artists and the art director of the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project. He splits his time between his studio and public projects. He was part of the Zero1flagship American Arts Incubator program, where he spent time in Laos collaborating with youth and local agencies on community-based, new media, and mural art projects that addressed the impacts of climate change. Burke lives and works in Oakland, California.

dburke.org