INFORMATION

Maxim Burnett is a self taught artist, born in 1996, studying a masters in fine art at City and Guilds, London. Maxim has taught himself the skill of water gilding and framing, alongside mastering drawing and oil painting. Between Covid lockdowns and a cancer diagnosis in 2021, Maxim has worked in near total isolation since pursuing his practice full time in late 2019.

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Maxim's allegorical paintings are concerned with the mythologisation of secular contemporary themes. His work borrows visual language from 20th century artists that celebrated industrial forces and humanist ideals, such as the Mexican and American muralist painters and the soviet constructivists. The visual language of these artists was imbued with a prosperous hope, one that dreamt of a secular industrial apotheosis for humanity- artists such as Valentina Kulagina and Diego Rivera, to name a few of Maxim's key influences. But his paintings call into question the confidence of humanist ideals, to question the aforementioned prosperity and optimism of the 20th century humanist ideals. By drawing attention to the sublime and calamitous impact that humanity has on the world, Maxim's work highlights the irresponsibility with which humanity wields its ubiquitous, deific level of influence and might.
 

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