The Marion Art Center will present an exhibition of abstract art featuring works by Bouldin G. “Bo” Burbank, Jeffrey Rappo, and Filipe Miguel, from March 7 to April 19. A reception honoring the artists and their guests will be hosted by the Marion Art Center on Friday, March 7 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
While the word “abstract” could describe or define the type of art that is produced by the artists exhibiting in this show, the three artists most definitely have diverse mediums. Jeff Rappo is a digital photographer, Bo Burbank is a painter and found object sculptor, and Filipe Miguel creates works using the “encaustic” method of painting. The resulting show will break out of the normal box for exhibitions usually shown at the Marion Art Center.
Meet The Artists:
Bo Burbank defies artistic standardization as far as style and approach. He rotates from one medium to another, going back and forth between paint, watercolor, sculpture and multimedia. He often starts his works with a mental image of a landscape or a stored-up feeling over an event or issue, but once initial contact with the canvas is made, his mind set and energies become open-ended, evolving on the canvas. Most of his compositions are abstractions, full of quick action and reaction strokes allowing the viewer to interpret the image through his or her own way of “seeing”. His sculptural pieces are inspired by the “found objects” he collects, producing works that are the products of emotion impelled by personal feelings or by public events and issues. Bo resides in Marion.
Filipe Miguel grew up in South Eastern Massachusetts. He was born in Paris in 1972, immigrated with his parents to the U.S. at a young age and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2005. As an artist, Filipe fuses different mediums and techniques to create his work. In his undergraduate studies at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, he explored drawing and painting while earning a BFA in Painting and Art Education. He achieved an MFA from the University of Connecticut in 2003 where he developed his interest in multi-media installations.
Of his work Filipe says, “The paintings start with the building of the wood panels. Then I mix pigments, beeswax, resin crystals and heat it up. I drip it on, layer it, smooth it out with a hot iron. Afterwards I fuse it with a heat gun or blow torch.” The resulting pieces are known as “encaustic” paintings. His sources of inspiration include natural selection, evolution, and mutation.
Filipe resides and works in Raynham where he lives with his wife and family.
Jeff Rappo’s life-long interest in music and art has inspired his most recent creative pursuit of digital photography. This medium is a perfect outlet for his experimental nature. An affinity towards the unusual and darker aspects of the human psyche is expressed through his abstract works. Jeff is a social science graduate of UMass-Dartmouth and currently resides in Marion.
Located at 80 Pleasant (the corner of Pleasant and Main Streets) in Marion, the Marion Art Center has been promoting the visual and performing arts since 1957. For more information about this exhibit and all the events at the Marion Art Center, please visit www.marionartcenter.org or visit during Gallery hours: Tuesday through Friday from 1:00 to 5:00 pm and on Saturdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.