Summer 2022 Artist Of The Season
Each season, we choose an Artist of the Season who inspires us to contribute a visual energy to Shoppe Object. We are thrilled to announce that this summer’s artist is Laura Burke, a Brooklyn-based creator whose mesmerizing still-lifes feel both intensely familiar and beautifully surreal. We know you will love her work as much as we do. Read on to learn more about her, then follow her on Instagram @llbllbllburke.
NAME Laura Burke
AGE 30
BORN Portland, OR
CURRENTLY RESIDE Brooklyn, NY
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN Taurus sun, Gemini moon, Cancer rising
FAVORITE FLOWER rhododendron, rose, nasturtium
FAVORITE EMOJI The nervous face 😬
What is your origin story as an artist?
I got kind of lucky there. I started drawing along with everyone else in preschool, and I started to feel like it was something I was good at around 6. From then on being an artist was all I wanted to do, but I took a detour in the service industry, retail, and commercial wallpaper screen printing.
What has inspired you lately?
I’m teaching myself to paint right now. It’s proving to be painful and rewarding. I’ve always identified with being a person that makes drawings (an underdog), so switching to painting felt like the weight of art history on my shoulders a little bit. Turns out it’s actually just incredibly fun and only mildly intimating.
What is your artistic process like?
I go to my studio every day, or close to. If I already have a drawing started, it’s much easier to jump in. My pieces aren’t planned ahead of time, it’s a combination of balancing objects and colors to make the pieces feel cohesive. Color theory is my best friend for each and every piece. I build them up slowly until the composition feels like it makes sense. I think of each drawing as an imaginary still life where perspective and the laws of physics don’t apply.
Do you listen to anything while you work? (Or in general?) What have you been listening to lately?
I listen to a lot of podcasts usually, but lately I’ve been in a punk phase. I love the Wipers, Urinals, Subhumans, Adolescents, and Unwound. When I switch back to podcasts it’s Poog, The Psychology Podcast, Real Dictators, Hardcore History or Modern Love – but the old Modern Love. The new version is not my cup of tea.
Is there a color you gravitate toward in your work or life?
Recently I noticed that I pretty much only wear blue, yellow and white. This was not intentional. In my work, I can’t seem to keep enough green or white pencils. I color them down to nubs.
A recipe you’ve mastered, or a favorite meal:
I make really good meatballs. I’ve fed them to enough people at this point that there’s proof. I’m really proud of them. But I am an atrocious baker, my boyfriend tells me it’s because I’m “experimental.”
What you’d do with a free day:
I’m also learning how to surf right now, so a perfect day off is at the beach. Swim, attempt to surf, leave before my sunburn peaks, then get a burrito and go home for a martini.
Do you have a prized possession or a favorite object in your home? (And has it ever ended up in a piece?)
Ya know, not really. I love clothes, and I collect them more than I should, but my interest in objects ceases there. I love to read, and I love to embroider, but those objects lose their significance once they’re completed. I think that’s why my pieces are full of flowers and fruit, they’re ephemeral objects. I tend to draw things that have a shelf life.
What is a single feeling you hope your art inspires?
A combination of warmth and melancholy.
What’s next for you?
I have a solo show at Stephanie Chefas at the beginning of 2023, and I have a feature in Wrap Magazine in September. Until those, I’m just drawing and painting and working.
Thank you Laura!
You can see more of Laura’s work on her Instagram.