Jesse Burke Photographs ‘LOW’ Series 2007
‘Low’ Photographic Series
‘Low’ explores the world of inner demons and displaced persons.
LOW Photographic Series by Jesse Burke, Rhode Island (USA).
In collaboration & the assistance of La Petite Mort Gallery, for Photography Festival X 2007 / Ottawa, Canada
Shot on location @ La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa, Canada.
Contact guy@lapetitemortgallery.com for available prints.
See full series here: https://guyberube.com/low/
LOW Series now in the permanent collection of North Carolina Mueum of Art, USA:
https://ncartmuseum.org/artist/jesse-burke/
Permanent Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA:
https://emuseum.mfah.org/objects/110227/richard-grabell
Press & Interviews:
Jesse Burke (b. 1972)
Jesse Burke’s series, Low, continues his exploration of the tension between the ideals of masculinity set up by society and what he calls “the true reality of men” — the actuality of existing as a man in the world today. These photographs of homeless men on the margins of society work to uncover their harsh existence and emphasize the humanity typically overlooked by those in the mainstream.
As Burke puts it: “My intentions are to take people that one ignores or passes in the streets and place them on a pedestal to emphasize their individual beauty. The straightforward images of weeds are meant to compliment the men and reinforce the idea that they are living on the fringes of society and are equally forgotten. In these images harden souls become vulnerable icons, allowing the world to see a different side of being low.”
Jesse Burke divides his time between personal art projects and commissioned work. Jesse’s work deals with themes related to vulnerability and identity, as well as human’s complicated relationship with nature. Daylight Books published his monograph, Wild & Precious in 2015. He received his MFA from Rhode Island School of Design, where he is a faculty member. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in the U.S. and abroad and is held in many private and public collections including the Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. Jesse was recently named one Time Magazine’s top 50 US photographers to follow on Instagram.
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The work in the exhibition, titled Low, is a collection of portraits of men who are ordinarily overlooked or ignored. In the Lowertown district of Ottawa, Burke sought out individuals who are often considered down and out. In return for compensation, each man agreed to remove their garments and step into a glowing light to be photographed. Reminiscent of Caravaggio’s figures emerging from the darkness, some look out at our gaze, many look away. We see sunken chests, stooped shoulders, scars and tattoos. But we also see a dignity in these men’s eyes, especially those who return their gaze. The direct opposite of advertising’s perfect male physique, these men’s spirits glow and they reveal their humanity, challenging us to consider our own.
Jesse Burke
EDUCATION
MFA in Photography, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
BFA in Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2017
“Wild & Precious” April Spotlight, Platform Gallery, Seattle, WA
Night(Light)” North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
“Wild & Precious” Vermont Center For Photography, Brattleboro, VT
“Wild & Precious” Gallery Kayafas, Boston, MA
“Wild & Precious” MOPLA, Lucie Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
“Flesh & Blood” Providence Photographic Arts Center, Providence, RI
2016
“Wild & Precious” McIninch Art Gallery, SNHU, Manchester, NH
“Wild & Precious” RISD Museum, Providence, RI
“Take Aim” Northlight Gallery, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
“Formative & Persisting” Sol Koffler Gallery, RISD, Providence, RI
“Athens Photo Festival” Athens, Greece
“A Fragile Balance” Flash Forward Photo Festival, Boston, MA
“Add On” Head On Photo Festival, Sydney, Australia
“Sticks Of The Sun” Ashes Of The Night, San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, CA
“By The Book” The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA
2015
“Wild & Precious” ClampArt, New York, NY
“Landscape As Fetish” Gallery Kayafas, Boston, MA
“Wild & Precious” Daylight Projects, Hillsborough, NC
“Most Endangered” Peerless Gallery, Providence, RI
“Early Works” Photographic Resource Center, Boston, MA
“Networks Retrospective” Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Westport, MA
“Most Endangered” City Hall Gallery, Providence, RI
2014
“Private Eye” North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
“Networks 2014” Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI
“Narrative” University of Rhode Island Fine Art Center, Kingston, RI
“Documentary” Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA Curated by Whitney Johnson
“Exchange Rates” Schema Projects, Brooklyn, NY
“Fall Back, Spring Ahead” Photographic Resource Center, Boston, MA
“I’m Your Man” ISE Cultural Foundation, New York, NY
“Most Endangered” American Institute of Architects, Providence, RI
“Most Endangered” Anchor Providence, Providence, RI
“Early Works” Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
“Most Endangered” Providence Preservation Society, Providence, RI
2013
“Correlate” Platform Gallery, Seattle, WA
“Most Endangered” Salomon Hall, Brown University, Providence, RI
“When We’re Together” Miller Yezerski Projects/Flatfile, Boston, MA
“Networks 2013” RISD Museum, Providence, RI
“No Man is an Island” Printmaking Center of New Jersey, Branchburg, NJ
“Men Working” Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, Appalachian St University, Boone, NC
“The Drinking Show” Sasha Wolf Gallery, New York, NY
“The Gun Show” Fovea Editions, New York, NY
“High Life” Schlosberg Gallery, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA (solo exhibition)
“Most Endangered” Providence Preservation Society, Providence, RI
“Early Works” Curators: Laura Valenti & Laura Moya
Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, OR
Rayko Photo Center, San Francisco, CA
RISD Faculty Biennial, RISD Museum of Art, Providence, RI
2012
“Blind” Platform Gallery, Seattle, WA (solo exhibition)
“America in View: Landscape Photography 1965 to Now” RISD Museum, Providence, RI
“Persistence: The Rural in American Art” Gund Gallery, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
“Low” The Perth Centre for Photography, Perth, AUS (solo exhibition)
Providence Preservation Society, Providence, RI
2011
“Jesse Burke” Impulse Art Fair, ClampArt, Miami, FL (solo exhibition)
“Summerland” Cross’ Mills Library, Charlestown, RI (solo exhibition)
“Low” The Perth Centre for Photography, Perth, AUS (solo exhibition)
“The Truth Is Not In The Mirror” Curator: Wally Mason
Haggerty Museum, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
University Galleries, Illinois State University, Normal, IL
Manhood: Masculinity, Male Identity & Culture, Helen Day Art Center, Stowe, VT
Lishui International Photo Festival, Lishui, China Curator: Melanie McWhorter
Fraction Magazine: 3 years, Rayko Photo Center, SF, CA
“Sweet Meat” The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA Curator: John Caperton
“100 Portraits – 100 Photographers” Curators: Andy Adams & Larissa Leclair
Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney, Australia
Sydney Masonic Centre, Head On Photography Festival, Sydney, Australia
Snap! Photo Festival, Orlando, FL
New York Photo Festival, New York, NY
“Let’s Be Friends” Residence Gallery, Long Beach, CA
“Postcards From The Edge” CRG Gallery, New York, NY
2010
“Intertidal” ClampArt, New York, NY (solo exhibition)
“Jesse Burke” Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, OR (solo exhibition)
“If On A Winter’s Night” Platform Gallery, Seattle, WA
“100 Portraits – 100 Photographers” Corcoran Gallery, Foto Week DC
“Open Season” Flanders Gallery, Raleigh, NC Curator: Allen Thomas Jr
“Traversing Gender” McIninch Gallery, Southern NH University, Manchester, NH
“Man Up” Judi Rotenberg Gallery, Boston, MA
2009
“Low” Platform Gallery, Seattle, WA (solo exhibition)
“America” Fast Ashley’s, Brooklyn, NY
“The There” Platform Gallery, Seattle, WA
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA
Save The Bay, Providence, RI
2008
“Solo Show No 13” Humble Arts Foundation (solo exhibition)
“Intertidal” 4 Walls Fine Art, Austin, TX (solo exhibition)
“Self & Others” David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University, Providence, RI
Four Walls Gallery, Portland, ME
Intertidal book release, Platform Gallery, Seattle, WA
“2008 RISCA Fellowship Exhibition” Machines w/o Magnets Gallery, Pawtucket, RI
“Summer Solstice” Mighty Tieton, Tieton, WA
2007
“Jesse Burke” Four Walls Gallery, Portland, ME (solo exhibition)
“Intertidal” Platform Gallery, Seattle, WA (solo exhibition)
“Semper Vigilans” Gallery at City Hall, Providence, RI (solo exhibition)
“Semper Vigilans” Providence Public Safety Complex, Providence, RI (solo exhibition)
“Up & Now” Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA, Juror: Charlotte Cotton
“Men” Ottawa Photography Festival, La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa, Canada (solo exhibition)
“Bytes” Dinnerware Contemporary Arts, Tucson, AZ
2006
“New Photographs” La Petite Mort Galerie, Ottawa, Canada
“PEEK” Art + Commerce Festival of Emerging Photographers
LAUNE Galerie, Tokyo, Japan
Space Fendi, via Sciesa 3, Milan, Italy
PhotoEspaña, Madrid, Spain
EXPOSweden, Stockholm, Sweden
“Snap! Click! Bang!” The Rhys Gallery, Boston, MA
2005
“Dark States” Platform Gallery, Seattle, WA
“PEEK” Art + Commerce Festival of Emerging Photographers, Brooklyn, NY
“2005 Faculty Biennial” RISD Museum, Providence, RI
“First Person” Froelick Gallery, Portland, OR
“New Talent of New England” Gallery AA/B, Boston, MA
“One Night Stand” The Bridge, New Orleans, LA
“Small Works” Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA
“MFA Thesis Exhibition” RISD Museum, Providence, RI
“Landed: The Influence of Landscape” Sol Koffler Gallery, RISD Providence, RI
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College, Chicago, IL
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX
RISD Museum, Providence, RI
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI
David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University, Providence, RI
Bowdoin College Museum of Art, NEED
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2016
Daily Mail, “Take Aim Exhibition,” December 30, 2016
Featureshoot, “Hunting Culture Revealed In Honest And Unflinching Photos,”
December 1, 2016
2015
McQuaid, Cate. “Landscape As Fetish,” Boston Globe, August 18, 2015
Time Magazine, “Top 50 US Photographers to Follow on Instagram,” August 16, 2015
Quartz, “Parents Capture Their Kids Learning the Lost Art of Unplugged Play,” August 4, 2015
Real Simple Magazine, “This Is Real,” June 2015
2014
Kid–In Magazine, “Inside and Out,” October 2, 2014
Capricious, “Jesse Burke’s Tender Exploration of Fatherhood,” May 21, 2014
Feature Shoot, “Into the Wild with Jesse Burke,” May 1, 2014
The New York Times Style Magazine, “Viewfinder,” April 24, 2014
The New Yorker, Instagram guest host, March 10–17, 2014
“Imaging The Endangered,” bigredandshinycom, February 10, 2014
Bramson, Kate. Providence Journal, January 23, 1014
McCaffery, Jen. “Eye for Design,” Rhode Island Monthly
Harrison, Elisabeth. Rhode Island NPR, January 23, 1014
Connor, Mary. “Preserving Providence,” East Side Monthly, January 14, 2014
Anderson, Patrick. Providence Business News, January 23, 2014
2013
Capricious #14, “The Masculine Issue”
PDN Photo of the Day July 18, 2013
Flakphotocom, June 24, 2013
Broaddus, Will. “All About Men,” The Gloucester Times January 24, 2013
2012
Time Magazine Lightbox blog, “Unfiltered,” December 19, 2012
Stuart-Hughes, Holly. “What Galleries Want,” PDN, July 2012
Picture Dept (Newsweek & Daily Beast blog) Into the Woods at ClampArt
Digital Photographer, “The Instagram Revolution”
Two Way Lens blog, April 27, 2012
Rhode Island Monthly, “America in View,” The RISD Museum, September 28,2012
The New Yorker, Instagram guest host, August 6.13, 2012
The New Yorker Photo Booth blog, “Jesse Burke Instagrams New England”
FlakPhotocom May 2, 2011
Feature Shoot blog, “Hunting Stands at Night,” February 27, 2012
This Is The What blog, “Jesse Burke and Adventures with Clover,” February 2, 2012
2011
Time Magazine Lightbox blog “Blind,” November 9,2011
Time Magazine LightBox blog, “CollectGive Book Release,” November 1, 2011
FlakPhotocom November 22, 2011
Newspace Retrospective Book, Newspace Center for Photography
Fraction Magazine #25 “Blind by Jesse Burke”
Fraction Magazine “Collaboration: The Truth Is Not In The Mirror”
Newhall, Edith. “Two artists,” Philadelphia Inquirer March 27, 2011
500 Photographers blog by Pieter Wisse, “Photographer #287: Jesse Burke”
2010
McQuaid, Cate. “A Year For Seeing Promising Signs,” Boston Globe December 20, 2010
DLK Collection Jesse Burke @ ClampArt
Aletti, Vince. “Jesse Burke,” The New Yorker July 1, 2010
aCurator “Jesse Burke: Intertidal” July 2010
PDN Photo of the Day June 30, 2010
McQuaid, Cate. “Man vs Measures of Masculinity,” Boston Globe May 2, 2010
“Man Up at Judi Rotenberg,” Berkshire Fine Arts May 2, 2010
2009
FlakPhotocom June 2, 2009
Low, self-published monograph
The Collector’s Guide To Emerging Art Photography, Humble Arts Foundation
Graves, Jen. “Currently Hanging,” The Stranger SLOG May 20, 2009
Hackett, Regina. “Men Around Us,” Another Bouncing Ball (blog) May 21, 2009
2008
Intertidal, monograph published by DECODE Books
FlakPhotocom August 30, 2008
FlakPhotocom August 23, 2008
FlakPhotocom August 16, 2008
Kangas, Matthew. “Redneck Chic,” artltd January 2008
2007
Preston Catalogue
AIGA Journal Boston
Gessel, Paul. Ottawa Citizen May 29, 2007
Graves, Jen. “Today The Stranger Suggests,” The Stranger April 20, 2007
Lippens, Nate. “Depth Beneath the Surface,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer April 12, 2007
Beal, Suzanne. “Intertidal,” Seattle Weekly April 12, 2007
2006
Gessel, Paul. Ottawa Express August 10, 2006
Ottawa Citizen August 3, 2006
2005
Peek Art + Commerce 2005 Festival of Emerging Photographers Catalog
Deluca, Andie. “First Person at Froelick Gallery,” wwwportlandartnet June 09, 2005
2004
Watershed Vol1 Brown University Literary Journal
2003
The 2003 Arizona Biennial Tucson Museum of Art Exhibition Catalog
Regan, Margaret. “Radical Demonstration,” Tucson Weekly June 05, 2003