“ Dean Burton’s minimal and abstract “Linear Series” photographs couldn’t be more different in spirit. Burton’s serene and meditative work is so removed from the spirit of Dada that I was surprised to learn he has something in common with Kurt Schwitters, the best-known of the many Dada collage artists. Both use trash in their work. Schwitters, a compulsive saver, used bus tickets, labels and newspaper fragments to compose rigorous collages. Burton packs the detritus of his studio—test prints, cardboard and packing material—into dense horizontal layers, which he scans or photographs. The result is so subtly colored and textured I was entranced.
