Artist Robert X. Burden. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired
Robert X. Burden‘s show Toy Box opens tonight in the Shooting Gallery, and in anticipation, the ‘techie’ magazine Wired just posted this highlighting the artist. Lewis Wallace interviewed Burden, who paints superhero figurines and comic book characters that are enlarged to epic proportions. The article focuses on the sheer amount of labor that goes into making massive paintings. Working on a ladder to reach every part of the canvas, Burden paints pieces that can reach up to 11 feet high. Buried within the detail of a painting like The Holy Batman are numerous obscure references to the series that only the most seasoned comic conniosseur could decipher. Burden explains ” “Somebody asked me why the hell would I put Predator in there?” (It’s a reference to a DC Comics/Dark Horse crossover titled Batman Versus Predator.) Elsewhere in the gridlike composition, Disney’s Mad Hatter and The Wizard of Oz’s Scarecrow make appearances. Discerning eyes will spot nods to individuals, both real and imagined, who inspired Batman’s creators, Bob Kane and Bill Finger.”
Burden also explains that the essence of his work is not to solely fetishize a nostalgic toy, where collectors own and showcase specimens from their childhood. In these paintings, Burden wishes to go a step further by re-imbueing them with the wonderment and majesty they once possessed – to elevate them to the same reverential degree as they appeared to a child, “Burden stresses that his paintings, which turn tiny plastic superheroes into towering immortals akin to Greek gods, are not about his love for the toys themselves. ‘It’s about my love for my view of it when I was a kid,’ he said, recalling the now-distant excitement he felt when he received a new plaything as a child. ‘I don’t really consider myself a toy collector, because if the toy was enough, I wouldn’t make the paintings. If I was still in kind of awe of the toy, and still absolutely adored the toy, then I could just put that on my shelf and that would be enough. But it’s not anymore.’”
Come tonight to see the opening of Robert X. Burden’s solo show Toy Box at the Shooting Gallery!
Toy Box, A Solo Show by Robert Xavier Burden
Opening Reception – Saturday, May 11, 7-11 pm
On View Through June 01, 2024
@ Shooting Gallery (shootinggallerysf.com)
886 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
RSVP.
View more images of Burden’s work, and excerpts from the article after the jump! Read more »