Rachael Burke

Artist Rachael J. Burke is an improvisational painter. She makes most of her decisions in real time instead of using a predetermined system. Her goal is to capture the evolving and elusive nature of perception along with creating a psychological state of mind. While she paints traditional subjects, Burke's paintings lean more towards abstraction so the viewer feels the movement and vibrations of her subjects.

Burke uses instinct to create a totally new experience through the true subject of her artwork, which is her painting process. Presented as both oil on canvas and oil on panel, Burke often allows the surface to reveal evidence of how she builds the painting when searching for equivalencies for what she thinks and feels. Burke digs for the connective reality we all share. In addition, a painterly process, mark-making versus a blended mechanical technique, works best for her to convey the sense of aliveness, continuation, renewal, and the internal process of continually evolving, more life affirming than static. She seeks the beauty in the presence of impermanence.

Burke was born in Pottstown, PA in 1954. She received her MFA in Painting from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1983 and a BFA from Western Kentucky University in 1977. She was a Professor of Art at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where she began teaching full-time in 1990. Burke has had numerous solo exhibitions in galleries, museums, and universities, including the following: The Erie Art Museum, Erie PA; The LOWE Gallery, Atlanta, GA; Gallery 937, Pittsburgh, PA; Yvonne Rapp Gallery, Louisville, KY; Malton Gallery, Cincinnati, OH; and Mercyhurst College, Erie, PA. Her exhibition list also includes participation in shows at The Butler Institute of American Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, The Chautauqua Art Institute, Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, J.B. Speed Museum, Owensboro Museum of Fine art, Headley Whitney Museum, and The Museum of Art of Ogunquit, Maine. She has received numerous awards and honors and her work is in many public and private collections.

View Rachael's artwork in the 2023 exhibit Chuffed Up! Save the date for Rachael's upcoming exhibit, August 7th - September 29th, 2024.