
JT Burke works the room
On Friday night I decided to pop along to the reception for an art show that’s just arrived in Bristol following exhibitions in California and Barcelona.
Most exhibition preview invites arrive unceremoniously by email, so when the glitzy invite slid through my letterbox and demanded an RSVP, it was clear that this was going to be a night with a different air. Beautiful Again is the work of JT Burke, an American artist with an eye for bling.
JT spends his spare time trawling flea market stalls and junk shops for quirky pieces of costume jewellery, which he then transforms with the use of photography, Photoshop and a bit of magic into fantastical works of art.
So I knew in advance that this would be a starry night. What I wasn’t prepared for was the sheer glamour of the event. By the time I arrived, hordes of gleamingly gorgeous guests were buzzing around the Grant Bradley Gallery, most of the females bedecked in glittering frocks that were only out-dazzled but the artwork itself.
Waitresses circled the room with canapés (feta cube speared to an olive, anyone?), while photographers from the local press snapped the mingling crowd.
JT Burke has also perfected his public persona into an art form, dressing always in a black shirt and sharp trilby hat to ensure he’s instantly recognisable. His European agent, Richard Scarry, was working the room just as ferociously - this was a party to be viewed at, as much as to view the art.
And the art itself? Seductive in its audacity, ribbons of gems glitter around bejewelled ducks, horses, bees and other critters that were presumably once brooches. Former clip-on diamonté earrings rival glimmering enamelled blooms in landscapes that could have dreamt up by Elton John. Even the frames are ornate and curly.
It’s all eye-catching and utterly shamelessly OTT. I just have trouble envisioning the house whose walls could do any of them justice.







