MOLLY JO BURKE

BIO

Molly Jo Burke, b. 1984, is a Cincinnati, Ohio based artist, educator, and researcher. Burke received a BFA (2006) from Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD), and her MFA (2009), from The Ohio State University (OSU).  In 2024 she received her PhD from OSU’s Arts Administration Education and Policy Program with a focus in Cultural Policy and Arts Management. She has taught at OSU, CCAD, and Corning Museum of Glass. Her work has been featured most recently at Toledo Museum of Art, Columbus Museum of Art, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. 

In Practice: ARTWORK

Burke creates artwork examining details of our environment and repetition of forms throughout various ecosystems using traditional and non-traditional materials. Forms are inspired by cells, plants, coral, and the architecture created by living organisms. Her use of materials and how artworks are displayed reflects on humanity's interactions with nature - sometimes beautiful but often destructive and precarious. 

In 2016, Molly began collaborating with her husband and fellow artist Nathan Gorgen, their practice utilizes excess material from their respective processes and home life to create new artworks. A variety of coatings, such as plaster, wax, epoxy, and faux painting, also left over from other projects, are then applied to the artworks to either heighten or obscure their innate qualities.  This allows the artists to play with perceptions of a material’s purpose, quality and value, as waste remnants and the byproducts of their life are transformed through the process. Incorporating reflections on their lives lived together, themes of landscape, play, and architecture flow through the art works.

In Practice: RESEARCH

After practicing for years as an artist and faculty in higher education, Molly was driven to seek more substantial and grounded answers centered on the artist’s practice - and if it is possible to understand what determines success in the visual arts field. Starting with how do visual artists define success for themselves, and what components in their career path have contributed to their achievements, her research aims to determine key aspects that could help inform artists early in their career or in higher education programs, so that a clearer picture can be formed for those seeking a career and life dedicated to the visual arts.

>Curriculum Vitae
>Teaching Philosophy