Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa

Brandt Gallery, Columbus OH.

April, 14 2025

Brandt Gallery is honored to present “Tabula Rasa”, featuring Columbus-based artist Christopher Burk and Madrid-based, guest artist Alejandro Botubol.

The Latin term of “Tabula Rasa” connotes an absence of preconceived ideas or predetermined goals; a clean slate. This is a particularly apt noun for the official inaugural exhibition in our new space, in which both painters present their distinct perspectives of the beauty in the mundane.

“Tabula Rasa” is a visual feast of Christopher Burk’s delicate oil encapsulations paired with Botubol’s snapshots of Art History and the quotidian. Depicted in varying hues of indigo blue with accents of pastels in pinks, yellows and greens, Burk’s latest series marries elements from many of his previous collections within a yellow square. In his signature, superior precision, Burk captures commonplace scenes of a house, with a utility pole, flanked by trees- motifs all gleaned from his previous series. The nocturne, and illumination have frequently provided a source of intrigue for Burk. The dexterity in which Burk renders the nuances of light and shadow, composition and form, in this series, showcases his evolution as an artist who is committed to an ever evolving interpretation of his pathos of environmental sustainability.

Like Burk’s motif of the structured yellow square, many of Alejandro Botubol’s compositions contain rigid quadrilaterals that are reminiscent of Polaroid photographs. This newest series of paintings from Botubol explores the connection between Art History and everyday experience through fragments that engage with three classic genres: landscape, still-life, and the figure. Initially inspired by iconic works that he discovered at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, and later at the Art Institute in Chicago, this projecte volved to include images taken from books and personal discoveries in the virtual realm. Each of his paintings recontextualizes these fragments, transforming them into a trompe l’oeil that plays with the viewer’s perception. The polaroid elements merge the historical with the intimate, reimagining the pictorial past in settings that also reflect moments from daily life. This “Snapshot” series is a reflection on the permanence and fragility of time, using painting as a means to reinterpret and revitalize art history, connecting it with the present through new visual narratives.

“Tabula Rasa” is on view from Saturday, April 12th, with an artist’s reception from 5-8pm, in conjunction with the gallery’s official public Grand Opening! The exhibition will be on display through Mid-May during gallery hours, Wednesday through Friday, 11-5pm, Weekends 1-5pm and by private appointment. Private appointments and early previews can be requested by emailing brgalleries@gmail.com or calling 614.223.1655.