Andrew Birk AMERICAN, b. 1985

Andrew Birk's practice loops broadly from the traditional two-dimensional surface to writing, sound, fashion, photography, and digital media, and then back to painting; harnessing the noise by which today's dissolving parameters sing. Often involving a sensory experience, Birk's work articulates complex scenarios and stimuli through the course of vigorous research. 

Born in Corvallis, Oregon in 1935, Andrew Birk is an American contemporary artist whose practice involves questioning what painting can be and what it can contain. Rather than treating the surface of his canvas as a neutral space for representation, Birk challenges it as something active and physical. The artist is less concerned about producing a fixed image and more about creating an encounter between himself, his materials and his surroundings. 

During his time living in Mexico City, he became particularly attentive to the textures and visual elements of the city, from the graffiti on the walls and discarded flyers to damaged surfaces and everyday objects. Rather than presenting the city through a recognisable view, Birk reconstructed the experience of moving through the city, turning fragments of an urban scene into a material language.