Cut short by an untimely death in 1989 at age 50, American artist Scott Burton’s 20-year career crossed over myriad genres: from sculpture, photography, drawing, performance, and video to art criticism, curation, and collecting. This legacy is examined in “Scott Burton: Shape Shift,” taking over all six galleries and the outdoor courtyard at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis through February 2. Among the exhibit’s more than 100 pieces, some of which Burton referred to as “sculpture in love with furniture,” is his 1980 Aluminum Chair that pays homage to the Adirondack version, 5-ton granite Rock Settee from 1988, and Five-Part Storage Cubes, 1982, in a rainbow palette. Independent curator Jess Wilcox penned the show’s provocative title, alluding not only to the breadth of Burton’s work but also the reality of life as a gay man who died from an AIDS-related illness.
Photograph courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York.
Photography courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago/Art Resource, NY/courtesy of the 2024 Estate of Scott Burton/Artist Rights Society (ARS), NY.
Photography courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art/licensed by Scala/Art Resource, NY.
Photograph courtesy of Robert Pettus/courtesy of the Estate of Scott Burton/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Photograph courtesy of the 2024 Estate of Scott Burton/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, and 2022 Phillips Auctioneers LLC.