Greg, Author at Greg Mason Burns

Springboard Artist Grant by the Maine Arts Commission

[caption id="attachment_305" align="alignleft" width="213"] Springboard Artist Grant[/caption] I'm super excited to receive a Maine Arts Commission Springboard Artist Grant in 2021. I will use the funds for my residency at Watershed Studios in Galway, Ireland in November of 2021. While there, I will develop a stronger body of work in my abstract photography series, currently titled "Re-directing the Message". At the same time, I will develop a series of collage-based abstract photography works. This is a bit of a defining moment for me, as it is my first grant. I'm also grateful because I also didn't think I would be getting the...

July 18, 2021

Greg

in Art Project, Residency

Copelouzos Family Art Museum – 35 x 35 Project

[caption id="attachment_2900" align="alignleft" width="268"] My Contribution to the Copelouzos Family Art Museum: Art Is Not Free / I'm Walking on Both Sides - Oil on Canvas - 35 x 35 cm (2020)[/caption] UPDATED ON 12/20/21 WITH LATEST - SEE BOTTOM OF TIMELINE FOR UPDATE Scam or Not? Read On...

May 10, 2020

Greg

in Criticism

Untitled Surreal Abstract #1 is an abstract oil pastel on paper painting using various shapes and colors to create a landscape.

Maine Arts Journal

The Maine Arts Journal has accepted me into the Spring Issue. The title is "Sanctuary" and I wrote about how the abstract is my sanctuary. Here is the link, enjoy. [caption id="attachment_2844" align="alignnone" width="1100"] Maine Arts Journal: Untitled Surreal Abstract #1 by Greg Mason Burns - oil pastel on paper (2015)[/caption] ...

April 19, 2019

Greg

in Publications

A Conversation About the Market

[caption id="attachment_2927" align="alignleft" width="257"] A Fallacy by Greg Mason Burns - Photograph (2016)[/caption] A Conversation About the Market was recently published by The Prostitution of Art, which is a contemporary art blog based out of Boston. The site discusses the unfair treatment of artists by society / market. Articles are meant to be abstract criticisms of these forces in the contemporary world. Here is the link to the original text: The Prostitution of Art. A Conversation About the Market: I want to be creative, but society has its own rules. There are no rules for creativity, and yet here we are. Where? Here,...

December 5, 2018

Greg

in Publications

Color Field Painting

[caption id="attachment_3617" align="alignleft" width="300"] Color Field #4 - Oil on Wood[/caption] What is Color Field Painting? Color Field painting, a derivative of Abstract Expressionism, is essentially the attention to color in abstraction as opposed to form or structure. The early Color Field painters, such as Mark Rothko, Clement Greenberg, and Clyfford Still created large works such that when one was standing up close one was absorbed in the color. Color Field has developed since then with various tendencies moving both further from shape and form and closer to it. What I'm Doing I'm developing color field in a way that combats the color against...

April 1, 2018

Greg

in Art Project, Painting

Artist Residency at The Quarry – Contemporary Arts International

[caption id="attachment_2954" align="alignleft" width="224"] Contemporary Arts International presents: Self-Portrait #2 - oil on canvas - 2013[/caption] Great news. I've been accepted to attend a two-month artist residency at The Quarry at Contemporary Arts International in Acton, MA for 2018. My tenure there will be split between one month in the spring (May-June) and another in the fall (Oct-Nov) with the exhibit being in Nov. My plan is to create ten large pieces similar to the one to the left. Except that I won't be doing silhouettes. Instead, I'll be painting colored squares or stripes as a background and putting the minimalist charcoal...

March 21, 2018

Greg

in Art Project, Contemporary Art, Exhibit, Residency

Incomplete is a minimalist, oil, abstract painting depicting the process of Scottish Independence using blue on a white canvas.

Imago Mundi – Scotland Collection

Incomplete - oil on canvas - 2017 - by Greg Mason Burns. Imago Mundi Project - Scotland Collection I noted late in 2017 that the Luciano Benetton Imago Mundi project asked me to participate in it's collection. A collection of artworks from every single nation on earth, each country has it's own collection. Some countries, such as the UK, have separate pages for the nations that exist within the UK. I am participating in the Scotland Collection. Each artist receives a canvas of the same size, and that's to make it easier to store and exhibit all the different artworks. The artist...

February 16, 2018

Greg

in Contemporary Art, Exhibit, Publications

Fiscal Sponsorship for Artists

Why do we have fiscal sponsorship for artists? Anyone remember Piss Christ by Andres Serrano? Yeah, that one - the one where Serrano received about $20,000 in tax-payer money to create art. In my mind, nothing wrong with that - he's an artist who had a provocative photograph, and that's pretty normal in contemporary art - but there were several conservative politicians who did take exception and, as luck would have it, these politicians managed to change how the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) would distribute tax dollars to artists. [caption id="attachment_2964" align="alignright" width="145"] Immersion (Piss Christ) by Andres Serrano (Image...

December 13, 2017

Greg

in Art

Abstract Minimalist Portraits

I haven't done a Kickstarter proejct for a while, mostly because I'm just not the kind of artist who needs a lot of "one-off" projects fulfilled. My most pressing need at the moment is studio space, and I've been working on my Patreon page to get me to a point where I can have on-gong long-term relationships that help me create art on a regular basis. However, when I saw that Kickstarter was going to be doing a Commissions project, I knew that this type of project would work well for me on that platform. The project is specifically about...

November 6, 2017

Greg

in Drawing, Reductivism

Southwest Harbor Exhibit Opening Night

About that Southwest Harbor exhibit opening night! What a week it's been. Being busy isn't even the word. Despite all the happenings leading up to opening night, the hanging, reception, and artist talk at the Southwest Harbor Public Library (Abstract Ideas, Art You Can Imagine) all went off without a hitch. I had about 10 people come, with about five coming early expecting the talk to begin at 5:30 instead of at 7:00. That's my fault, as I wasn't clear about the talk's time. Still, the exhibit looks good. Twenty-seven pieces hanging throughout. I'm pretty happy with that, and how...

November 5, 2017

Greg

in Exhibit

Greg Mason Burns

Author: Greg