About
Stephen Burke is an Irish artist and curator working between Dublin and Glasgow. 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, was nominated for the Ingram Prize in 2023 and recently completed a large scale sculptural piece for the UNESCO heritage site Volklingen Ironworks in Germany. Stephen is the founder of the social media platform Post Vandalism which explores the aesthetics and concepts of graffiti, protest and resistance and fosters support from a wide international community. This project inspired the most recent edition of Kunstforum International, the most renouned specialist journal for contemporary art in Germany. Burke also co-founded the London based curatorial collective Pigeon Park, which organizes exhibitions in industrial spaces. This project was created in response to the post-pandemic threat posed to artists’ working conditions in the wake of the Covid crisis.
Stephen’s work draws inspiration from the frenzy of city spaces, examining the impact city dwellers have on their environment, giving his work a raw, immediate quality. He explores the contest for public space in cities, shaped by conflicting interests. What was once intended as open, democratic space has become increasingly standardised, as state institutions focus more on security and control, a concept Michel Foucault famously termed the "disciplinary society." The rise of defensive architecture, designed to limit the free movement of city inhabitants, is a key element in Stephen’s practice, reflecting his interest in how these forces connect to larger cultural and social dialogues. His work invites a more human, relatable perspective on these issues.
Burke frequently reclaims materials and draws from public space, incorporating elements like fencing, hostile architecture, and painterly remnants left by graffiti removal teams. By repurposing these objects, he subtly reconfigures public space to make it more user friendly. In his studio, he transforms these materials into new objects that index, subvert and question the values embedded in urban design, challenging who these spaces are truly built to serve. The resulting works are exhibited in galleries or in public spaces, engaging audiences in rethinking their surroundings.
Stefanobardsley@gmail.com