Paul Burton
BIO
Paul Burton had a long and successful global career in the mining supply industry where he experienced so many locations, people and cultures. Following his retirement in 2017 Paul has returned and now concentrating full time on his first love of contemporary art, in particular sculpture. His return to art is influenced by his extensive experiences living and working around the world in the mineral extraction industries, in so many diverse places ranging from the Gobi Desert to the frozen wastes of the Arctic Circle.
His unique steel, slate and glass creations are inspired by the earth’s resources and look to incorporate his unique “Earthlight” sculpture creations back into the landscape. Paul’s home and garden in rural Worcestershire is his showcase setting for his work. The Kenswick Manor west wing Garden, designed and constructed by multi Chelsea Gold medal garden designer Peter Dowle, provides an excellent backdrop to Paul’s individual work and is a great place to visit to meet Paul and view his work.
This Earthlight range of work is Paul’s observation and statement on where we are in the conflicting debates on the resource management of our planet. These sculptures placed in the landscape with an aspect to the rising or setting sun are powerful visions. Their intent is to question the western environmentalist paradigm.. A qualified observation is that our world would be a very different place to live without the mineral extraction that has contributed to our modern lives. Everything we consume is from the earth (mined, grown or from the ocean). However this industrialisation and modernism has been historically reckless with no real consideration of the environment.
For example, without mining there would be no trains, planes, automobiles, Internet, computers, phones, no cancer scanners or man on the moon, but it has come at a cost. These Earthlight pieces make a statement, They are from the earth and the composition is made up of, slate, silica, steel, lead, crystal et al. They display the earth’s bounty in a beautiful and powerful way, but at the same time providing a portal through them for us to consider the impact on the environment. Each piece is unique and comes with its own narrative.
