Today we’d like to introduce you to Ron Burkhardt. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Born in the idyllic midwest and bred in the urban cauldron of New York City. Owned a blue-chip ad agency, Burkhardt & Christy in Manhattan as CEO/Executive Creative Director – became a full-time artist after 9/11, looking to leave a more enduring legacy than witty Super Bowl spots.
Won over 200 creative awards. Exhibited in over 100 art shows worldwide, including honors at Biennales in Italy, Austria, Art Basel/Miami, and solo shows at prestigious galleries in Palm Beach, New York, Florence, Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, Chicago, Southampton, London, Paris and Miami.
He’s been featured on major television networks and had art auctioned at Sotheby’s, Paddle 8, and Phillips de Pury/NY. His artworks have been acquired by numerous museums, corporate buildings, universities, and discerning collectors around the world.
Burkhardt earned a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and later studied at the Art Students League of New York and the National Academy of Fine Art/NY. He splits his time between Miami, New York and California.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Took a decade to gain serious traction in the early years. Often on the verge of leaving the art world to return to more lucrative pursuits, but as his bio and acclaim grew, interest in Burkhardt Art spiked, leading to major momentum and dramatic sales increases.
In the early years, it was difficult to break into the gallery system but Ron now has a dozen top galleries representing him, Artsy.net frequently selling his paintings online, and constant commission requests coming in.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Ron is the founder of three genres of contemporary American art – Notism (multi-tasking hieroglyphic memory fragments), LetterScapes (bold, geometric color fields that create an abstract alphabet of symbolic word forms), and Earth Art (large, unprimed canvases infused with paint leached through soil, soaked in water and bleached in the sun). His diverse styles can be found on ronburkhardt.com
Networking and finding a mentor can have a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
It’s vitally important to have inspirational leaders to aspire to, someone you can look to as an example of the type of success you’d like to achieve. However, it’s hard to just go “looking” for a mentor-usually it happens organically, through personal connections or people you meet at social events or in cultural settings, which is why it pays to be “out there” and engaged with the arts community.
Many mentors come in the form of gallery owners and dealers, as they stand to benefit most from an artist’s enhanced stature and fame. Equally important is to become a mentor yourself, to impart learned wisdom and experiences, and to bring along and help those who are just emerging.
Mentors can also come in the form of “patrons,” well-to-do collectors who appreciate your endeavors, encourage your efforts, and support success by investing in the art at various stages of an artist’s career. I was fortunate enough to have several visionary allies along the way-Bobby Hernreich of Vail, Sylvia Hemingway of New York, Michael Romano III of Chicago, Jeff Marinelli of Los Angeles, and several top gallerists such as Steven Manolis of Manolis Projects/Miami and Bryan Walsh of DTR Modern/Palm Beach.
Pricing:
- Burkhardt Art prices range from $10,000-100,000
Contact Info:
- Website: Ronburkhardt.com
- Instagram: @ronburkhardtart
- Facebook: ronburkhardt
- Linkedin: ron burkhardt
Image Credits
David Vance, Christopher Fay, and Rob Rich
