Charles E. Burchfield: By Design on view from September 12 - December 29, 2013

Before gaining prominence as a legendary American painter and visionary artist, Charles E. Burchfield was first a design student, then a commercial wallpaper designer. In the fall of 1912, Burchfield enrolled in the Cleveland School of Art where his professors and peers quickly recognized his keen design abilities. In August 1913, he wrote, “Design was my special field… the design teacher said I was the genius of the class.” The Charles E. Burchfield: By Design exhibition, on view September 12 – December 29, 2013, will celebrate how Burchfield captured the powerful grandeur of nature using this form of creative expression.

Burchfield's early development was influenced by the philosophies of American printmaker Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922) who advanced the notion that, instead of simply copying nature, artists should bring fundamental elements such as line, mass, color, or contrast into compositional harmony. Dow believed there was expressive power in pattern and decorative design.

In 1916, Burchfield's talents earned him a scholarship to the National Academy of Design in New York City. But, disillusioned by the course work and longing for home, Burchfield left the Academy after just one afternoon and returned to Salem.

Inspired by this homecoming, 1917 began a period of inventiveness and stylistic experimentation that Burchfield himself referred to as his "Golden Year." Burchfield painted prolifically, including some of his most celebrated works. And, it was during this same year that Burchfield created a lexicon of abstract pictographs which he called "Conventions for Abstract Thought." Each design symbolized a specific emotion and Burchfield used these "Conventions" throughout his career to assign specific meanings to his work.

This unique understanding of pattern and symbol, and the desire for meaningful expression in his work, was evidenced even in the camouflage designs Burchfield created for the Army during World War I. While stationed at Camp Jackson, South Carolina in 1918, he wrote, “It was impossible for me to do straight camouflage. I had to have a poetic idea back of my designs.”

After his time in the Army, Burchfield married and started a family, and the need for employment became a prime motivation. Based on the strength of his early work, Burchfield was hired by the M. H. Birge & Sons Wallpaper Company in Buffalo, New York where he worked through the 1920s. His work was so well received that they eventually put his name in the salvage and promoted him to head designer, but in 1929, at the dawn of the Great Depression, Burchfield quit his job at the wallpaper company and dedicated himself to painting full time.

Charles E. Burchfield: By Design presents pieces from throughout the artist’s career. Student and early professional work inform later drawings and paintings. The exhibition is co-curated by Tullis Johnson and designers Brian Grunert and Kyle Morrissey of White Bicycle, a design studio specializing in brand building and strategic marketing.

“The invitation to co-curate this exhibition was quite an honor,” commented Brian Grunert, who says the installation was originally intended to focus on Burchfield’s work as a student who explored poster design. “We do a lot poster and publication design and viewed it as an opportunity to mine our perspectives on that craft, and relate our experiences in this area to Burchfield's early posters. But after digging deeper and researching his work, we were led down a different path.”

Grunert says, as designers, the team at White Bicycle has always felt a connection with Burchfield's work, and through their collaboration on By Design, were excited to realize even more in common with the artist. “His approach to visualizing and graphically interpreting nature is very similar to the methods a designer would use in approaching a project. Even in his grand, transcendental landscape paintings you can recognize what feel like elements of graphic design,” added Grunert. “We searched for a distinct point early in his career where Burchfield 'the designer' passed the baton to Burchfield 'the painter'; however, we discovered Burchfield's design sensibilities continued to inform his art throughout his career. The exhibition showcases evidence of this, and celebrates Burchfield's extraordinary ability to design his own visual language, and use it to express reverence for nature and interpret his world."

“The Burchfield Penney strives to bring different voices into our curatorial practice. Whether they are professionals working in a specific field, learners at different ages or artists with a unique perspective,” said Scott Propeack, associate director/chief curator. “The ability for us to have the community participate in sharing a vision of and for a broader understanding is where our interest resides. The arts as culture are at their best when they challenge multi-disciplinary intersections.”

Charles E. Burchfield: By Design is on view from September 12 - December 29, 2013.