Lilian Thomas Burwell, “Enfolded”, 1973
Lilian Thomas Burwell, “Untitled”, c. 1980
Lilian Thomas Burwell, “Montagne”, 2012
The work above is from Lilian Thomas Burwell’s exhibition Enfolded at Berry Campbell gallery in NYC.
From the press release–
Living and working in Highland Beach, Maryland, Burwell, age 95, was recently hailed as the “Tom Brady of Artists” in the New York Times. In 2022, Burwell received Howard University’s Lifetime Achievement Award along with Betye Saar.
Lilian Thomas Burwell: Enfolded highlights the dynamic transition in Burwell’s abstract visual language from two-dimensional painterly canvases to three-dimensional sculptural forms. Burwell’s paintings from the late 1970s and early 1980s employ a distinctly bold palette and reference the natural world, featuring organic forms that abstract biotic phenomena. In 1984, Burwell literally cut into a canvas, creating a shape beyond the square. This pivotal act gave way to Burwell’s examination of form, bringing forth Burwell’s signature style of three-dimensional, painted wall sculpture. Dr. David Driskell described Burwell’s work as, “transcendental in showing stylistic diversity of earthly beauty and cosmic vision.”
This exhibition closes 3/11/23.