January 9 - February 6, 2004

The works in this exhibition are the result of a recent two week stay with European friends at Belvedere Chiccopoli, an 18th century Tuscan villa. Situated at the edge of a deep, ever changing valley landscape, the immediate surroundings became a source of vivid memories: an old sheepherder leisurely riding his Vespa behind his dogs and sheep, putt-putting towards the valley floor; zigzagging Paola Ucello hares, bounding through distant sunlit fields; nighttime clouds rolling over the landscape below, obscuring the twinkling lights of villages with a gray mist; eating very late dinners outside while satellites accelerated across the immense night sky; children sprawling, laughing, and playing board games in the villa's outsized open living room; making and then baking handmade pizzas in the ancient brick oven behind the villa.

Through improvisation, this jumbled collage of experiences has been distilled and transformed into personal images. Circles, ovals, and hands predominate; symbols for the sun, moon, satellites, self-portraits, and human activities.

My influences are continually shifting. I am interested in topograhies and boundaries because of the tensions they create in both art and life. I love all the great old magicians, regardless of discipline: Federico Fellini, Winsor McCay, and Cesare Pavese, come to mind. I hope to continually view the world anew, and become younger inside my art as I grow older.

Fred Burton is a Professor of Art at the Memphis College of Art, where he has taught since 1987. His artwork is widely exhibited and collected, regionally and nationally.

See more work by Fred Burton at http://www.fredburtonpaintings.com/.