Et in Arcadia ego: Loren Burke
Press Release – Et in Arcadia ego
la BEAST gallery is proud to present Et in Arcadia ego, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Loren Burke. In this wide-ranging body of work, Burke confronts the tension between paradise and mortality. Drawn from the Latin phrase often translated as “Even in Arcadia, there I am,” the title reminds us that death inhabits even the most idyllic landscapes. In Burke’s hands, Arcadia becomes Los Angeles, a place of glowing color, theatrical desire, and latent darkness.
Et in Arcadia ego opens with a reception on Saturday, February 28th, from 6–9 PM at la BEAST gallery in Cypress Park. The exhibition will remain on view through April 11th.
About the Exhibition
Our meeting was accidental. An unplanned studio visit if you will. In a nondescript building deep in Downtown Los Angeles’ fashion district, I stopped by to see an artist friend. We were mid-conversation, talking about Taipei and shifting borders abound, when my attention drifted across the room. In a cluttered corner, partially obscured, hung a handful of loose canvases. Gritty. Unfinished. Beckoning. To put it mildly, I was very intrigued.
There is something immediate about Loren’s paintings. Not polished. Not self-conscious. They feel lived in. Part Peter Doig, part Raymond Pettibon, yet entirely sincere. Somehow oozing with unapologetic vulnerability. What lingers is not the subject matter, but the feeling. His compositions carry a quiet melancholy. Nothing feels ironic. Nothing feels detached.
There is a genuine desire to paint. To understand paint. Loren speaks about oil with a kind of devotion. The transparency. The way it binds as it dries. The way layers hold their own history. There is ambition here, but not the fashionable kind. He measures himself against painters he reveres, asking whether the work stands up. The question is simple and relentless. Is it good enough? Is it honest enough?
Having migrated to Los Angeles, Loren entered a landscape that feels both cinematic and destabilizing. Brightness everywhere. Beauty everywhere. Charade everywhere. The work moves through that light without surrender, refusing to look away, rendering itself exposed, unafraid of the shadows.
Artist Bio
Loren Burke (b. 1986 Greenfeild, MA) states: “The core of my work falls under the umbrella of sink or swim expressionism. I look at my art and I ask, is it as good and as interesting as a de Chirico or a Picasso or a Guston or a Hockney? I’m really only interested in getting better at paint handling, drawing, studying light, form, and color.”
A graduate of SMFA at Tufts, Burke has participated in numerous group shows, art fairs including NADA NY, and appeared in New American Paintings in 2018, Northeast, Issue #134. Additionally Burke has participated in several residencies, most recently, Aviario Studio Residency in 2023. Burke lives and works in Los Angeles.
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