[xtypo_dropcap]H[/xtypo_dropcap]eavy Metal, youthful rebellion, and the subversive edge of popular culture will be part of Canada’s contribution to next year’s Venice Biennale.
Vancouver artist Steven Shearer will represent Canada at Venice’s 54th Biennale. The prestigious event, held in Venice from June 4 to Nov. 27, 2011, assembles some of the greatest contemporary artwork from around the world. Seventy five countries are represented at the exhibition.
The Biennale is the only international art exhibition to which Canada sends official representation, and being chosen is a top honour for Canadian artists.
Shearer is an Emily Carr University of Art and Design alumnus whose art includes found-image (pictures gathered from the Internet) photo collages and text-based works that examine various subcultures. His works utilize a wide range of traditional and contemporary media.
“We’re absolutely delighted that Steven has been chosen to represent Canada at the 2011 Biennale,” said Dr. Ron Burnett, President and Vice-Chancellor at Emily Carr. “He joins the ranks of several notable Emily Carr alumni who have proudly represented Canada over the years.”
Although he hasn’t shown often in Canada, Shearer is gaining a growing reputation. His solo exhibitions have shown widely, including in Amsterdam, Zurich, New York, Turin, and Tokyo.
“Under its pop cultural surface, Steven Shearer’s work is surprisingly complex and insightful,” said National Gallery of Canada Director and CEO Marc Mayer.
“By showing us aspects of popular culture anachronistically, and from so many different points of view, he exposes the false hierarchy of high and low art and prompts us to consider the more interesting differences between the cultural industries and the art world.”
Mayer added that Shearer’s “intelligence and originality are now widely recognized among the cognoscenti. It is time to broaden the audience for this brilliant young Canadian artist and Venice will do that.”
The 42-year-old artist’s varied portfolio includes the piece “Repose,” a large digital collage of hundreds of photo images of people sleeping.
Shearer often uses ballpoint and/or pencil crayon portraits, as in the piece “metal-heads” in which he manages to portray five long-haired heavy metal fans in a style reminiscent of the renaissance. The pencil crayons add a subtlety and delicate texture to the work that softens the edges of these antagonistic characters.
Shearer was chosen by a national selection committee comprised of senior contemporary art curators from across Canada and formed by the National Gallery of Canada, the organizer of the Canadian representation for the 2011 Biennale.
Taking place every two years, the Venice Biennale is held in cohort with the Venice Film Festival and the Venice Biennale of Architecture.
Vancouver artist Steven Shearer will represent Canada at Venice’s 54th Biennale. The prestigious event, held in Venice from June 4 to Nov. 27, 2011, assembles some of the greatest contemporary artwork from around the world. Seventy five countries are represented at the exhibition.
The Biennale is the only international art exhibition to which Canada sends official representation, and being chosen is a top honour for Canadian artists.
Shearer is an Emily Carr University of Art and Design alumnus whose art includes found-image (pictures gathered from the Internet) photo collages and text-based works that examine various subcultures. His works utilize a wide range of traditional and contemporary media.
“We’re absolutely delighted that Steven has been chosen to represent Canada at the 2011 Biennale,” said Dr. Ron Burnett, President and Vice-Chancellor at Emily Carr. “He joins the ranks of several notable Emily Carr alumni who have proudly represented Canada over the years.”
Although he hasn’t shown often in Canada, Shearer is gaining a growing reputation. His solo exhibitions have shown widely, including in Amsterdam, Zurich, New York, Turin, and Tokyo.
“Under its pop cultural surface, Steven Shearer’s work is surprisingly complex and insightful,” said National Gallery of Canada Director and CEO Marc Mayer.
“By showing us aspects of popular culture anachronistically, and from so many different points of view, he exposes the false hierarchy of high and low art and prompts us to consider the more interesting differences between the cultural industries and the art world.”
Mayer added that Shearer’s “intelligence and originality are now widely recognized among the cognoscenti. It is time to broaden the audience for this brilliant young Canadian artist and Venice will do that.”
The 42-year-old artist’s varied portfolio includes the piece “Repose,” a large digital collage of hundreds of photo images of people sleeping.
Shearer often uses ballpoint and/or pencil crayon portraits, as in the piece “metal-heads” in which he manages to portray five long-haired heavy metal fans in a style reminiscent of the renaissance. The pencil crayons add a subtlety and delicate texture to the work that softens the edges of these antagonistic characters.
Shearer was chosen by a national selection committee comprised of senior contemporary art curators from across Canada and formed by the National Gallery of Canada, the organizer of the Canadian representation for the 2011 Biennale.
Taking place every two years, the Venice Biennale is held in cohort with the Venice Film Festival and the Venice Biennale of Architecture.
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