Andy Burgess
About the artist
Born and raised in London, the son of Shakespearean actor John Burgess, artist Andy Burgess originally studied political science at Leeds University before embarking on a career in art.
Describing the style of his collage as “Pop Geometry” Burgess references a golden age of American advertising and graphic design from the 1930’s to 1960’s with it’s witty typographic flourishes and stylish Art Deco influences. The geometric impulse in the collage reflects Burgess’s ongoing fascination with early Twentieth Century art movements such as Bauhaus and Russian Constructivism which inspire his strong sense of graphic and architectural design.
Q&A
How would you describe your art?
I work in a wide variety of media across painting, collage and photography but there are recurring themes that can be seen in much of my work, such as an interest in strong color, light, abstraction, architecture and all things vintage, retro and analog. Over the past twenty years I have built up a practice that includes making collage both abstract and representational from found and collected vintage papers, such as 1930’s and 1940’s Matchbooks. The paintings are part real and part invented, imbued with a dream-like or cinematic light and mood.
What helps you focus?
I listen to music constantly while I work. Music is a vital companion and helps mitigate the fact that making art is often a solitary business. I love a broad range of music from Classical to Jazz, bluegrass and folk. But mostly I listen to contemporary “Indie” music, much of which crosses over genres from pop, rock and Americana.
Are you trying to communicate through your art, and if so what are you trying to communicate?
That’s a lovely question. Making art is definitely a way to communicate with the world. I’m trying to communicate a sense of beauty and delight and joy through my work as a counterbalance to the difficult challenges we face in life and the harsher world of politics and economics.
Has your art matured with you?
Absolutely. Making art and practicing daily over a thirty-year period definitely helps your art mature and improve both technically and conceptually. But I do sometimes find myself going back to themes that interested me in the very first art pieces I ever made, just after leaving University. So, in one sense, as artists, we are always looking to find and refine our own language and re-invent ourselves, but the past is always there.