For more info on the artist go to the following link:
Ricky Burnett
(1949 - )
Solo exhibition at the Everard Read 2008: Margins
Ricky Burnett was born in Birmingham, England in 1949, to Patricia & Leslie Burnett. In 1955
Leslie left Birmingham for the South African Highveld to take up a contract with the OK Bazaars.
Young Ricky and his mother arrived a year later and the family settled in Johannesburg. His adolescent and teenage years were spent in country places filled with riding horses, swimming in
dams, erecting and crashing go-carts, suffering sun burn and mosquito bites and eating fruit from
the trees. School teachers considered him to be of at least average intelligence and promise but
according to him, he did not live up to either.
From Krugersdorp High, Ricky attended Wits University, involved himself in student affairs and
finally he met Cezanne
A love affair with the fine arts had begun and in 1973, he enrolled in part time drawing classes with Bill Ainslie. Burnett was drifting further from Wits and academics and closer to paint and canvas.
His involvement with Ainslie led to part time teaching at the school and his prowess at curating
exhibitions evolved with two for the Art School, one at Gallery 101 and the second at the Market
Theatre Gallery. He followed this with two solo exhibitions at the Market Theatre Gallery and
Enthoven Gallery, the second being metal sculptures extraordinary abstract drawings in space
which caught the eye of Anthony Caro.
In the early 80s he wrote reviews for the Rand Daily Mail and in 84 conceived and curated the
BMW Tributaries exhibition. Tributaries forever changed the face of South African art collecting
and brought to the fore, black artists and crafts people, who until then remained very much in the
background of apartheid South Africa.
Following the success of Tributaries, Burnett and his wife left the Highveld to explore London.
Much networking and two successful exhibitions later, Ricky, Sandra and Daniel returned to a very different and vibrant South Africa. He sought out sculptor and prophet Jackson Hlungwani and curated a landmark exhibition in Newtown, Johannesburg. Aware that Newtown would become the intellectual hub of the city with returning exiles from politics and the arts, he opened in association with Mary Slack, the Newtown Galleries on the Market precinct.
The gallery was the first to bring in exciting work from the African continent. International artists
included Vyakul from India and Basil Beatty from the UK. Memorable exhibitions were Urban
Artifacts, Geoffrey Armstrongs magnificent sculptures, Hassan, Koloane and Mautloa for Africus
95.
The changing pace of economics and growth in South Africa and particularly Johannesburg, led
to a high crime rate and by 1996 the glory of Newtown found itself in a slump and he chose to
close the gallery instead of moving to the Northern suburbs.
In 2001, the Burnett family headed for the USA and settled near Seattle where Ricky has been
teaching and making art. A recent trip to Johannesburg rekindled his passion for South Africa and
he returned as a visiting artist to the Bag Factory 6 months ago.
This exhibition marks a new chapter in his life.
Please note the mark on the frame.
