Double Dutch (Turku)
Painted cardboard, mirrors, wood
2024

Tom Burtonwood (b. United Kingdom) is a Chicago-based multidisciplinary artist, curator and educator. He/they are Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Like the critical theorist Deleuze, Burtonwood maintains a Baroque sensibility, a fascination with complexity, multiplicity, and the infinite play of forms. Deleuze’s description of the Baroque fold as a "fold within a fold" resonates with his layered sculptures and intricate drawings. These works reveal their complexity through a series of folds, each layer adding depth and richness to the overall structure. This complexity invites viewers to engage with the artwork on multiple levels, uncovering new layers of meaning with each interaction.

Burtonwood's work further intersects with Deleuze’s philosophical ideas through its emphasis on movement, pattern, repetition, and cognition. His unfolding sculptures and drawings are dynamic processes that embody continuous variation and complexity. Through their intricate patterns and transformative movements, they invite viewers to explore the fluid boundaries of space and time, engaging in a cognitive journey that mirrors the philosophical exploration of the fold.


He/they hold an MFA from Southern Illinois University (USA) and a BA from Loughborough College of Art (UK).

Burtonwood is co-founder of Chicago based creative studio, Happy Returns and a member of the international art collective videokaffe.

Recent venues presenting Burtonwood's work include Taiteen Talo and Tramhall, both Turku, Finland; MOM Art Space, Hamburg, Germany; MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Center, Helsinki, Finland; Material, Chicago; The Donut Shop, Chicago; Bert Green Fine Art, Chicago; DesignLab Gallery, Pasadena, CA; Dock 6, Chicago, IL; Monaco, St. Louis, MO; Platform, Evanston; Riverside Art Center, Riverside, IL; CICA Museum Gyeonggi-do, Korea; DEMO Project, Springfield, IL; Terrain Biennial 2017, Oak Park, IL.

Burtonwood is a board member and co-organizer of Terrain Exhibitions, an Oak Park based not for profit arts organization that makes private space public through sculpture, installation, performance and interventions. Apart from Terrain he/they have curated over twenty exhibitions of contemporary art working with Chicago - based artist run galleries GARDENfresh (2002 - 2009) and What It Is (2010 - 2015).