Christopher Burch, a local titan in the arts, presents 25 journal sized charcoal paintings, alluding to strength and unyielding presence.

“I’ll Be Back This Way” Exhibition Opening Showcasing Christopher Burch

Hosted by Arcana, Curated by Clare Eva

I’ll Be Back This Way takes its title from a legendary moment in the life of Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight champion of the world, who, when ticketed by a police officer for speeding, is said to have paid a $50 fine with a $100 bill and declared, "I’ll be back this way". A statement that fused bravado, resistance, and an unyielding assertion of presence.

Comprising 25 8.5 x 11 drawings and executed in graphite, gouache, china marker, crayon, and glass pencil on cold-press watercolor paper, the exhibition translates this spirit of defiance into a visual language of recurrence and prophecy.

Hands, faces, and luminous points of light emerge from dark, textured fields; eyes appear embedded in palms, fingers are crowned with star-like flares, and figures seem simultaneously watched and visionary.

The material contrasts, oily, gestural marks against dry graphite, velvety subtle grays against the tooth of paper, create a charged surface tension. These works do not illustrate Johnson’s story so much as echo its psychic resonance, rendering returnings as both historical fact and cosmic inevitability.

6pm-10pm
Exhibition Opening with Curator and Artist

7pm-9pm
Special Musical Performance by
Christopher and music partner Rasul, Revenge of the Four Five

9:30pm-1:30 am
Join us for the After Party with DJ Fibonacci