Greenwich Art + Design is pleased to present Convergence, a major solo exhibition by acclaimed American artist Ron Burkhardt, opening September 24 at Greenwich Art + Design, 7 East Putnam Avenue in Greenwich.
Convergence brings together three remarkably different bodies of work created by Burkhardt over the course of his career: Notism, LetterScapes, and Earth Art. Though dramatically different in appearance and process, the three genres reveal a compelling common thread—a lifelong fascination with color, memory, language, structure, and the forces that shape our everyday lives.
Burkhardt is the founder and originator of the Notism movement, a contemporary art form first exhibited in 2001. At first glance, Notism may resemble hieroglyphic markings or primal scribbles. Yet beneath the seemingly chaotic surface lies an intricate visual record of modern life. Drawing upon his lifelong habit of list-making, Burkhardt developed Notism as a visual language for the fragmented thoughts, memories, responsibilities, and competing impulses of contemporary existence.
His second genre, LetterScapes, transforms language itself into geometric abstraction. Using a personal abstract alphabet developed by Burkhardt, precisely arranged fields of color form words and phrases that reference people, places, emotions, and events. These striking “word portraits” combine the discipline of a draftsman with the visual power of hard-edged color-field painting.
LetterScapes emerged in 2013 following a serious eye injury that forced Burkhardt to spend weeks with his head down and unable to work on large canvases. Turning to drawing as an outlet, he began experimenting with lines, words, and geometric forms.
The result was an entirely original visual alphabet—and a new genre of art. In a dramatic departure from both Notism and LetterScapes, Burkhardt’s Earth Art embraces the unpredictability of nature. Working outdoors on large, unprimed canvases, he combines acrylic, enamel, indigenous soil, water, and sunlight to create expansive, organic compositions. Rather than controlling every aspect of the image, Burkhardt allows nature to become a collaborator.
The resulting works possess an elemental, weathered beauty—part painting, part geological artifact. Each work records something of its own physical journey, with Burkhardt identifying the region where it was created.
Despite their differences, all three genres are united by Burkhardt’s extraordinary relationship with rich, saturated color. He traces this fascination to his childhood in Jackson, Michigan, where his daily walk to school took him past Cascades Falls, an environment of vivid color, water, movement, and light that left a lasting impression.
“My fascination with rich colors shows up in all three of my art genres,” Burkhardt explained. “Somewhere along the way, I also became enamored of the color blue, and it has become my brand identity. Perhaps it was the water, sky, or western denim that initially caught my eye and intrigued me. But it has become a special, soulful symbol of serenity for me.”
The title Convergence reflects the exhibition’s central idea: three seemingly disparate artistic languages ultimately converge through one artist’s singular vision.
Burkhardt’s work is held in the collections of numerous museums and public institutions, including the George Bush Presidential Library, Eisenhower Medical Center, Ella Sharp Museum, Water Mill Museum, Stony Brook Hospital, Southampton Hospital, The One Club in New York, and the Miss America Organization.
A graduate of Western Michigan University, Burkhardt began his professional career as a New York advertising agency owner. His experience navigating the relentless demands and competing priorities of an urban professional life became an important influence on the development of Notism.
With Convergence, Greenwich Art + Design invites collectors, art enthusiasts, and the public to experience the extraordinary breadth of an artist who has repeatedly reinvented the possibilities of contemporary painting—while remaining deeply connected to the same fundamental passions that have driven his work from the beginning.
Ron Burkhardt: Convergence. Opens September 24, 2026
Greenwich Art + Design is located at 7 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830