About
Stephen Burke is an Irish artist and curator based between Dublin and Glasgow. He holds an MA in painting from the Glasgow School of Art (2018) and was recently awarded the Gilbert Bayes Award for early-career sculptors from the Royal Society of Sculptors (2025). Stephen is the founder of the social media platform Post Vandalism which explores art practices that bring together the transgressive nature of civil resistance with the conceptual rigour of contemporary art. The platform fosters support from a wide international community and inspired an edition of Kunstforum International, Germany's leading journal for contemporary art. Burke also co-founded the London based curatorial collective Pigeon Park, which organises large-format 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 has completed residencies in Prague, Berlin, and London and exhibited work in institutions like Het Hem, Cromwell Place and the RHA. His work has also been exhibited in outdoor sculpture venues, including the UNESCO-listed Völklingen Ironworks, and frequently appears in non-commercial, post-industrial spaces.
In an era of rapid transformation—where urban development policies increasingly reshape daily life—Stephen’s work explores these shifts within city spaces, examining how individuals both shape and are shaped by their surroundings. Through public intervention and studio-based works, in sculpture, painting and film, he aims to question public space as beyond our influence, encouraging viewers to reflect on their own relationship with these spaces.
A key focus of his practice is the study of restrictive architectural strategies, which are becoming prevalent in contemporary urban design. His practice frequently involves sourcing and reclaiming materials associated with these strategies, including elements like security fences or anti-sitting spikes. In his studio, he repurposes these materials into new objects that subvert and question the values embedded in urban design, asking questions of who these spaces are truly built to serve. Through his practice, he hopes to invite a more human, relatable perspective on these issues, inviting conversation on how we are effected by the spaces we inhabit.