User:Robert James Buratti/sandbox

Robert Buratti (Born in Narromine, New South Wales on 16 January 1977 ) is an Australian artist, author, curator and art dealer. He lives and works in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. His spiritually suggestive motifs such as the mandala, rose and tarot have placed his artwork in the field of Symbolism although his creative philosophy is heavily grounded in Surrealism. His work has become part of the growing Esoteric Art movement in Australiasian region, and his exhibitions have expanded the understanding and appreciation of the genre throughout the region.

Early years
A self-taught artists, he grew up with a strong interest in visual art from an early age under the influence of his maternal grandfather, who was a painter and cartoonist. Buratti's later interest the religious power of the northern Italian masters was spawned from a childhood fascination with Leonardo DaVinci and Caravaggio. Descended from the 16th century Italian painter, Girolamo Buratti, his early drawing practices were inspired by many of the great renaissance painters as well as the mandalas and meditative practices of eastern culture.

His work took a later shift toward a pure focus on the revisioning of creativity as part of a transformative spiritual practice. Taking cues from artists such as Aleister Crowley, Rosaleen Norton, Max Ernst, Andre Masson and Salvador Dali his work became focused on the meditative, unconscious movements of the mind and the accessing of subconscious imagery. Buratti would later explore these concepts in the work of others via a series of touring exhibitions from 2012 - 2016 and a series of publications and lectures. It remains a focus for his personal creative practice.

Education and career
After graduating high school, he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts from Macquarie University with majors in English Literature, critical theory and psychology. During his study he became interested in C.G Jung’s theories of the collective unconscious and its links to visual art, forming the basis of his early approach. While studying he began his career as an art dealer working for a number of commercial art galleries in Sydney, before continuing to a Master of Arts Administration at the College of Fine Arts/ UNSW. During his early career he began to work with Australian Symbolist artist Kim Nelson, the filmmaker and photographer Alex Proyas and surrealist master James Gleeson representing their work in Western Australia.

His early exhibitions as a dealer included artists such as Tim Storrier, Wendy Sharpe, Danie Mellor, Fred Cress, and Jason Benjamin. In 2011 he founded an art consultancy in North Fremantle focusing on presenting contemporary art to a growing West Australian client base. Over the following years, he established a dedicated exhibition gallery in Subiaco while setting up new ventures in publishing (Buratti Editions), touring international exhibitions, and auction services (Buratti Auctions).

Major Curated Exhibitions
In 2012 he curated the first exhibition of English artist and occultist, Aleister Crowley to tour Australia. This was followed by “Windows to the Sacred”, a major 120 work exhibition of esoteric art, touring institutions across New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. It presented the original artwork of Rosaleen Norton, Aleister Crowley, Austin Spare, and some of the original exponents of the Parisian Salon de la Rose Croix (1890) alongside contemporary and modernist artists such as Danie Mellor and James Gleeson. The purpose of the exhibition was to present art as a spiritual practice, and the resulting interest from the event prompted Buratti to be invited to consult on subsequent exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, New York University and City Gallery Wellington among others.

In 2017 he co-curated an exhibition at City Gallery Wellington, New Zealand titled "Occulture: The Dark Arts" which furthered the genre of spiritual, visionary and esoteric art and included the first showing of Rosaleen Norton in her home country.

In 2019 Buratti curated the surrealist micro-festival 'Dali Land' as part of the Perth Fringe Festival drawing nearly 20,000 visitors across 30 days.

Collaborations
In 2016 Buratti's original drawing "The Hierophant" was exhibited on the largest video screen in Times Square New York

In 2016 the artist collaborated with Canadian rock trio, The Tea Party to produce a series of 12 original drawings and 13 short films which were shown as part of "The Edges of Twilight" anniversary tour across Australia and North America.

In 2017 Buratti's original work and films were projected across the iconic Hammer Hall in Melbourne

In 2017 the work "Drawing Down the Moon" was launched into deep space aboard NASA’s OsirisRex mission

Board & Industry Appointments
2016 Senate Candidate (Western Australia) The Arts Party

2016 Art Acquisition Board, City of Armadale WA

2009 President, Friends of the Art Gallery of WA

2009 Board member, JazzWA Inc

2008 Editor, Artefacts Magazine (Art Gallery of WA)

Published works
2019 Aleister Crowley: The Catalogue Raisonne, Buratti Editions

2019 Mystic Dali, Buratti Editions

2016 The Edges of Twilight, Buratti Editions

2015 Art meets Magick, Raw Vision New York USA

2013 Wendy Sharpe, Backstage, Artist Profile magazine, Australia

2012 The Art of Bernard Ollis, Artist Profile magazine, Australia

2012 Esoteric Art in Australia, New Dawn magazine

2012 WA Wrap, Artist Profile magazine

2011 Spirituality of the Martial Arts, New Dawn magazine

2011 The Nightmare Paintings, Buratti Editions

2011 Windows to the Sacred, Buratti Editions

2010 People of the Secret, New Dawn magazine

2008 Buyer Beware; Australian Art Review

2008 James Gleeson Remembered; Australian Art Review

2007 The Rise of the New; Australian Art Review

2006 Contemporary Parallels: Art of Asia; Misoolsidae Art Journal, Korea

2006 Accumulators & Decorators; COFA Magazine 2006 The Collector, Australian Art Review

Selected Exhibitions
In addition to managing the artwork of his contemporaries, Buratti exhibits his personal artwork across major cities in Australia, New York, China and Singapore.

2019 Unconscious Contemporary, Fringe World, Metro City Perth WA

2018 Comics West, Edith Cowen University WA

2018 Inner Atmospheres, Edith Cowan University WA

2018 The Other Art Fair, The Facility Melbourne VIC

2018 Weird in Progress, The Odd Fellow Gallery, Fremantle WA

2016 Language of the Birds, New York University, New York USA

2016 Art on Paper Fair, Chelsea, New York USA

2016 Dot on the Run, FORM, Port Hedland Courthouse WA Australia

2016 The Other Art Fair, Sydney Australia

2015 Albany Art Prize, Albany WA Australia

2015 Cossack Art Awards, Karratha WA Australia

2015 Collision, Commune, Sydney NSW Australia

2015 Lethbridge 10000, Brisbane QLD Australia

2015 Brisbane Art Prize, Lightspace, Brisbane QLD Australia

2015 Windows to the Sacred, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, VIC Australia

2015 The Metro Art Fair, Manhattan, New York USA

2015 The Outsider Art Fair, Chelsea New York USA

2014 Cabinet of Curiosities, Marion Harris Gallery, USA

2014 Sacred Spaces, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing China

2014 Factory 718, Buratti Fine Art, Perth WA Australia

2014 Opus, Queen St Gallery, Sydney Australia

2014 Arcana, Meinhardt gallery, New Jersey USA

2014 Windows to the Sacred, Devonport Regional Gallery, Tasmania Australia

2013 Windows to the Sacred, SH Ervin Gallery/ The National Trust of Australia, Sydney

2013 Langue Verte, Buratti Fine Art, WA Australia

2012 The Nightmare Paintings, Queen St Gallery, Sydney NSW