Brian Bourke
Born in Dublin 1936, Bourke studied painting for a time at NCAD (Dublin), St Martin's School of Art and Goldsmiths College London, though he did not stay a long time at any of these institutions and it can be said that Bourke is largely self taught. A self proclaimed outsider Bourke features himself in a great deal of his work which is grounded in his experience of everyday life, though depicted through a fictional narrative. His style is uniquely his own, though he draws influence from a broad number of sources, including 15th Century German and Italian Primitivism, Post Impressionism, and German Expressionism.
Bourke tends to work in series and has experimented in a variety of media including oil painting, acrylic, watercolour, crayon, pencil, etching and sculpture. His works have displayed combinations of these and he is commended as being an excellent colourist, draughtsman, sculptor and etcher.
Bourke, forever an outsider to the art world of Ireland, has always sat outside the dominant artistic movements. Indeed he is wary of the art establishment. Despite this he has maintained a loyal following and has been championed as one of the leading figures in Irish Contemporary art. He was a founder member of the Independent Artists group in 1960, but resigned when the group introduced a policy of selection. He was one of the representatives at Rosc International Art Exhibition in Dublin, 1988 and was recipient of the prestigious Cnuas award. Brian Bourke is an elected member of Aosdana and an honorary member of Royal Hibernian Academy.
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Bourke tends to work in series and has experimented in a variety of media including oil painting, acrylic, watercolour, crayon, pencil, etching and sculpture. His works have displayed combinations of these and he is commended as being an excellent colourist, draughtsman, sculptor and etcher.
Bourke, forever an outsider to the art world of Ireland, has always sat outside the dominant artistic movements. Indeed he is wary of the art establishment. Despite this he has maintained a loyal following and has been championed as one of the leading figures in Irish Contemporary art. He was a founder member of the Independent Artists group in 1960, but resigned when the group introduced a policy of selection. He was one of the representatives at Rosc International Art Exhibition in Dublin, 1988 and was recipient of the prestigious Cnuas award. Brian Bourke is an elected member of Aosdana and an honorary member of Royal Hibernian Academy.
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