OPENING RECEPTION
FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2026
5-8 PM

ON VIEW
APRIL 10 - MAY 9, 2026

FOR INQUIRES
Please contact hello@chefasprojects.com

Portland, OR — Chefas Projects is pleased to present So Be It, a new body of work by Portland-based painter Laura Burke, on view from April 10 through May 9, 2026. The exhibition is dedicated to the artist’s father, Tom Burke (April 23, 1953 – January 2, 2026).

So Be It reflects on acceptance—of time, of change, and of life’s inevitable cycles. The title speaks to a quiet surrender, particularly in the face of loss and transformation. Burke’s paintings move through seasonal metaphors: winter embodies grief, patience, and stillness, while spring suggests release, renewal, and evolution. Each phase is intrinsically tied to the next, forming a continuous search for balance.

Burke explores these universal themes through intimate, narrative scenes composed of everyday objects and imagined figures. Drawing inspiration from the portraiture of Sandro Botticelli, the still lifes of Mary Fedden, and the atmospheric interiors of Pierre Bonnard, she constructs visual mythologies that merge art historical reference with personal symbolism. In her work, ordinary objects take on talismanic significance—a flower may hold the weight of a jewel, and a rock becomes imbued with quiet magic.

This transformation is partly inspired by Burke’s reading of The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, which rekindled a childhood fascination with the hidden meanings of natural objects. In these paintings, Burke reclaims that sense of wonder, restoring emotional and symbolic power to what might otherwise seem inert.

Known for her vibrant still lifes and interior compositions, Burke paints not from direct observation but from memory and emotional resonance. Her process involves gathering visual fragments—flowers, ceramics, textiles, books—and arranging them into carefully constructed scenes that function as a private, intuitive language. Working in flattened space and saturated color, she creates environments that feel both familiar and dreamlike.

The absence of human figures invites viewers into these spaces, allowing each painting to become a personal encounter. Pattern and color intensify the emotional atmosphere, evoking the texture of memory itself: specific yet fluid, grounded yet imagined. Through this approach, Burke captures the quiet poetry of everyday life—not as it is, but as it is remembered and reinterpreted.

Born in Oregon, Burke began her career in illustration, a foundation that continues to inform her narrative sensibility. Her work has been exhibited widely across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, with exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo. Collected internationally, her paintings offer a deeply personal yet widely resonant meditation on home, beauty, and the fleeting nature of experience.

ARTWORK

INSTALLATION IMAGES

© CHEFAS PROJECTS
Photo credit: Mario Gallucci