Collection: Stephen Burke

Stephen Burke is an Irish painter and curator based in Glasgow. As an artist Stephen's practice captures the gross, rapid impact we have on the environment, with particular focus on graffiti removal residue, anti-climb architecture and construction markings. He graduated with an MA in painting from the Glasgow School of Art in 2018. He is a recipient of the Agility Award from the Arts Council of Ireland in 2022 & 2023 and the Open Fund for Individuals from Creative Scotland.

As a curator he is widely recognised for founding the social-media platform 'Post-vandalism', an acclaimed page that serves as a dialogue, focusing on the intersections between power systems within urban environments, resistance and protest. He also founded 'Pigeon park' a collective which organises exhibitions in industrial spaces, set up in response to the threat to artists working conditions in the wake of the Covid crisis.

The unconventional aesthetics of his work challenge notions of classical beauty, elements of hostile architecture pervade his work, repurposing these elements of the street to provide his own narrative. He's keen for his work not to be seen as a fetishisation of urban decay but instead an example of the artists refusal to submit to urban sterilisation – the very spirit of artistic resistance.