Monte Burman engages the problem of translating contemporary icons into paintings.  In turning advertisements and other iconic images into works of art, he alludes to the unity of purpose between advertising and historical-religious painting.  As a result, Burman's paintings occupy a space between high art and advertising, identifying both as strategies of distilling and amplifying information into a single visual moment.

A rigorous Alla Prima (wet in wet) painting process is key to Burman's work.  Near-complete paintings are scraped down and reconstructed in order to introduce different speeds of painting, colour palettes and depictive marks.  His intended result is a collision of deliberate and chance visuals which must negotiate the same space. 

Burman is a recent graduate of the University of Guelph's Studio Art program.  His latest group shows include: "The Object Interrupted" (OCAD, Toronto), "Painting IV" (Ed Video, Guelph) and "Young Painters of Great Promise" (Studio 21, Halifax).