(b. Picton, Ontario, 1957)
As an artist working in photography, Robert Burley has sought to describe and interpret the built environment in which he lives. His work often explores the transition between city and country through projects such as “ORD: O’Hare Airfield”, “Viewing Olmsted”, “Great Lakes” and “An Enduring Wilderness”. He has also photographed urban spaces and structures through commissioned and self-directed projects that include: “Disappearance of Darkness”, “The New Suburb”, “Instruments of Faith”, “House/Home”, and “The Places of Glenn Gould”. Burley’s photographs have been extensively published and exhibited and can be found in numerous museum collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Musée de l’Elysée, George Eastman Museum, Canadian Centre for Architecture, and Musée Niépce. Books featuring the work of Robert Burley include Viewing Olmsted: Photographs by Robert Burley, Lee Friedlander, and Geoffrey James; O’Hare: Airport on the Prairie; The Disappearance of Darkness: Photography at the End of the Analog Era;and An Enduring Wilderness: Toronto’s Natural Parklands. Robert Burley lives in Toronto with his family and currently is associate professor at Ryerson University’s School of Image Arts.
