Christian Burchard

“I have been working with wood for most of my life. We are comfortable with each other, have a close relationship and I value the connection immensely. I am curious what is inside, how it works. At times, I am awed by its beauty and the story of its history – the tracks that the passing of time have left. I am driven to expose this beauty, to make it shine. At other times I am more fascinated with its inner structure, its more subtle form and spirit.”
— Christian Burchard

Christian Burchard was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, later moving to the United States in 1978. He started out as a furniture maker’s apprentice and transitioned to woodturning and sculpture later in life. In 1982, he opened a studio in Southern Oregon where he currently resides. Burchard’s material of choice is Pacific madrone burl, which changes as it dries. This wood forced him to, “step back from the work and relinquish control for a short time while letting the wood find its own shape.” Burchard enjoys taking risks with his art and uses green, unpredictable wood to create forms that warp and twist as they dry. This process makes his final form unique from other wood sculptures and nearly impossible to replicate.

Burchard studied sculpture at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts and the Emily Carr College in Vancouver, British Columbia. Since 1990, he has exhibited in numerous museums, galleries, Universities and art fairs around the country and the world. His works can be found in the permanent collections of 30 prestigious museums across the U.S., including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC; Craft & Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA; de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA; Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA; and the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT.

Christian Burchard currently resides and works in Ashland, Oregon.

Submitted by Momentum Gallery