Burgy is a member of Apex Community Church in Kettering. His murals decorate the hallways, and you’ll find his metal cross as you walk in the south door. Apex pastor the Rev. Rob Turner’s message the week he was saved was about “The Passion of the Christ,” the movie produced by Mel Gibson. That movie had a tremendous effect on Burgy.
“There was one pretty intense scene where they put his hand on the cross, and it just opens,” Burgy said. “I took a black-and-white photograph of my opened left hand. The center of my palm has what appears to be scars; it wasn’t Photoshopped at all.”
Another moving piece is “The Life Stone.” He was visiting Dodds Monuments in Xenia looking for raw materials for a sculpture class at Wright State. There was a large slab of broken marble they couldn’t use; they told him he could have it. There is much symbolism in the sculpture.
“The white marble was meant for death, but I gave it a new life. It is shaped like a lung, for the breath of life. The three holes represent his hands and feet on the cross,” Burgy said. The twisted copper represents his ascension as it goes up, and the pieces spread out on the bottom symbolizes the message he wanted to spread to everyone.”
On the back of the sculpture are marks that represent where Jesus was whipped. The red-stained copper wire is curved to represent his crown of thorns. A more traditional work is a large-scale acrylic portrait of Jesus titled “Passion.” It’s another image from the movie that Burgy adapted. The scene that resonated with him was the calm resolve Jesus had after he was tortured with a whip.
“He was beaten, but benevolent and strong,” Burgy said. “He’s facing toward the red to represent his blood, and the top right sunrise symbolizes his resurrected life that is coming.”
Burgy also enjoys using abstract imagery to represent his faith.
“Catholics believe perfect-sided shapes and solid white squares represent the divine,” Burgy said. “I want to use abstraction as part of my ministry to try to communicate the heart of the issues. Then I have to explain their meanings.”
He won his first major art award when he was 17, for a linoleum cut print of a hand holding a diploma. It was his first art competition, Ohio’s Congressional Art Competition in 2000.
His parents, Robert and Sandra Burgy, spurred his creativity by taking him to art museums when he was a young boy.
Burgy earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Wright State University, a multimedia certification from Sinclair Community College and a master’s in art education from WSU.
He will be teaching a mobile class at Rosewood Arts Centre beginning April 21. He will also teach painting and drawing this summer for Rosewood’s art camp. This fall, he will be teaching Early Childhood Art Education at the University of Dayton.
Burgy has been showing his works professionally since 2005. He had a solo show at the Visceral Gallery when it was located in downtown Centerville. You can also view one of his paintings at the current Delicious exhibit at the Rua Gallery in Kettering. His earrings are sold in the Dayton Art Institute’s gift shop.
You can find more of his works by searching Matthew R. Burgy artworks on Facebook. Burgy has a mobile sculpture in Dayton Visual Art Center’s upcoming auction. On the surface, it doesn’t appear to be about Christianity.
“I try to represent God with the things you can’t see, but you know it’s there. Like the wind. It moves people,” Burgy said.
Contact contributing writer Pamela Dillon at pamdillon@woh.rr.com.
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