Ally Burguieres

Ally Burguieres
Born	Alexandra Gertrude Burguieres (1982-11-21) November 21, 1982 Washington, D.C.
Nationality	American
Education	Georgetown University
Known for	Artist
Website
Gallery Burguieres

Ally Burguieres (born November 21, 1982) is a New Orleans-based American visual artist and inventor. She owns two galleries in the French Quarter of New Orleans, and created the Wish Dog, a trademark-registered trinket.^[1]

Biography

Burguieres was born Alexandra Gertrude Burguieres in Washington, DC. She holds a bachelor's degree in English Literature, two master's degrees in journalism and language arts,^[2] and her Ph.D. in Media Arts from Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Since 2012 she has been Professor of Media Studies at Tulane University. She traveled with art exhibitions to such countries as Brazil, England, France, Germany, Ireland, and the United States. Her works have appeared in such magazines and newspapers as The Washington Post and the National Geographic Traveler.^[3] In the 2000s she invented a Wish Dog which is a hand-made trinket designed for burning wishes. In 2013 her bead design was chosen for the Super Bowl XLVII as the official NFL and Courtyard Marriott medallion.^[4]

Early life

Burguieres is the second of five daughters born to Janice M.Burguieres and Thomas H. Burguieres. She was raised in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C.. Burguieres is largely self-taught in art. She has stated in interviews that she has always been fascinated with language and preferred to develop artistic skills independently through practice. She has linked producing art to a form of meditation. Burguieres graduated from Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda in 2000. She has cited her family as a major support and inspiration for art.^[5]

Education

Burguieres began her degree at University of Maryland in 2000 as a Life Sciences major. She completed a two-year life sciences honors program and finished with her B.A. in Literature and Rhetoric. In 2003 she attended the Cannes Film Festival as an accredited member of the press, reporting on the festival proceedings and film events from Cannes, France. In 2004 she began her M.A. in Journalism as a graduate student at the University of Oregon, on a Graduate Teaching Fellowship in the School of Journalism. At UO she was a teaching assistant for Visual Communications and Grammar for Journalists. Upon completing her M.A. in Journalism, Burguieres went on to Georgetown University and completed her Master's in Language and Communication. In 2007 she started her Doctorate at Queen's University Belfast, the recipient of the school's Overseas Research Student Award for three years. Her Doctoral thesis,"Media Talk: What Everyday Media References Say About Our Relationships and Realities" was accepted in 2010 and Burguieres was awarded the title of Ph.D.

Artwork

Burguieres owns Gallery Burguieres, a single-artist gallery founded in 2011 with her mother Janice, located at 736 Royal Street in the New Orleans French Quarter.^[6] She has stated the gallery was made possible by the response to her work when she had solo shows in various galleries. She has also cited the Gallery as a place to share her vision and connect with others. In addition to seeing success from her paintings, Burguieres also creates clothing under the label Cocoally and created a trademarked, smoking wish-granting trinket called a Wish Dog.^[1]

In November 2013, Burguieres opened a second New Orleans-based shop, called Cocoally, located at 630 St. Ann Street in the New Orleans French Quarter.

Burguieres paints almost exclusively animals, citing a reverence for animals' beauty and innocence as a key inspiration in life and painting. In interviews she has been outspoken about her passion for the vegan lifestyle and a commitment to animals, humanitarianism, and environmentalism.

Starting in 2011, she has gained increasing popularity for her Notebook Series collection of paintings, which are done on large canvases painted to look like looseleaf paper.^[7] She still produces new works in this series, as well as continuing a series of intricate, colorful works she calls Chromatic.^[8] These two distinct series and styles are tied together by the subject matter of animals, and Burguieres's signature attention to line, detail, and expressive form remains identifiable throughout.^[9]

In 2012, Burguieres rented 11 pieces to the National Geographic IMAX film Hidden Worlds, in addition to creating custom artwork for the film. She has since rented to other productions and remains happily involved in the blossoming New Orleans film industry.^[10] In 2013 she partnered with the NFL and Courtyard Marriott to design and create the official medallion for Super Bowl XLVII.^[11] She is a regular participant at fundraisers and charity events, channeling her artistic talent and drive to causes ranging from rebuilding efforts to animal rescue and animal rights.

References