Robert Burnier

Robert Burnier is an Assistant Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he teaches courses in Painting and Drawing. He holds an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the same institution (2016) and a BS in Computer Science from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (1991).

• Exhibitions include O One, O None, Through the Night (Cape Town), O No One, O You, Around a Mortar of Fire (Chicago), and Rob Barnard, Robert Burnier & Julian Stair (London).
• His artwork draws inspiration from the colors of ancient African, Mediterranean, and Mesopotamian objects, with titles referencing Esperanto, the utopian language of L.L. Zamenhof.
• He has served on the boards of arts organizations such as Heaven Gallery, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, and Tiger Strikes Asteroid in Chicago.

Burnier's research and teaching focus on the intersection of painting, cultural theory, and material experimentation. His studio practice emphasizes the historical and contemporary significance of painting, including its role in political, ethical, and psychic transformation. Courses like Graduate Painting and Drawing Seminar explore disability theory, visibility politics, and the relationship of art to labor and leisure.