MACKENZIE BURKE // JUNE 29-JULY 21

December 21, 202410:12 am - 10:12 am

Please join us for the opening of Off Cuts, new work by Mackenzie Burke on June 29, from 5-8pm during the Biddeford+Saco ArtWalk.

Burke lives and works in Portland, Maine. His work which often deals with the supernatural or otherworldly is also largely informed by his love of cinema. With an Interdisciplinary degree from The Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Mackenzie’s work spans various mediums including video, painting, sculpture and installation.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Off Cuts, a series of 12″ x 12″ paintings, is the refined end product of a period of deeply transgressive and personal art making in my life. These are the paintings that materialized in the first year of my sobriety. Each canvas is it’s own meditation. Small personal one-offs that now, when standing back seem to be circling a much larger unseeable verse about spirituality, love, and my own inconceivable redemption. There is a common fear with artists and musicians that somehow their creative practice will be lost in the processes of getting clean. Luckily, nothing could be further from the truth. These paintings reflect a fairly experimental and untethered method of image-making for me. They represent a sense of new joy within the most traditional of formats. I think this is me finding my wonder again.

Shows:
The Holiday Show (group) Liberate Hollywood, Los Angles CA, 2017
Bodies (collaboration w/ Joe Schlaud), Stumptown Coffee Seattle, WA 2017
Speak of the Devil, The Stables Portland, OR 2012
Die Clean, Clawhammer & Clothespin Portland, OR 2010
Mega Unknown: Information From Beyond, grad show, NSCAD Halifax, NS 2008
events:
Merlin Video Ltd. Presents: Just Before Dawn film screening Portland, OR 2014

What people are saying about Engine...

Partnering with UNE, Engine has offered professional level gallery and classroom experiences for undergraduate and local students enrolled in arts classes as well as a venue to see art by both regionally and nationally recognized artists.

Stephen Burt

University of New England

Engine is and has been a focal point of downtown Biddeford for many years for so many artists and creative spirits. It is a go-to for me: a retreat, a destination, a source for connection and ideas and community.

Laura Dunn

Artist

Engine is a wonderful place to work surrounded by wonderful people who have infused so much love and light into the downtown of Biddeford. I cannot imagine a bright future in the town without this wonderful organization.

Savanna Pettengill

Artist & Arts Teacher

Engine fuels the creativity of our city, making it the hub for youth and adults alike to feed their spirits, expand their skills, and create a better future for all of us.

Stephanie Edwards

Community Action Committee