Vancouver visual artist Steven Shearer has been chosen to represent Canada at the 54th prestigious La Biennale di Venezia 2011 (Venice Biennale), from June 4 to November 27, 2011.
The Biennale is the only international visual arts exhibition to which Canada sends official representation.
The artist was chosen by a national selection committee comprised of senior contemporary art curators from across Canada and formed by the National Gallery of Canada (NGC), organizer of the Canadian representation for the 2011 Biennale.
Shearer was born in 1968 and has exhibited internationally, including the Tate Modern in London, The New Museum, the Barbara Gladstone Gallery in New York, the Galerie Eva Presenhuber in Zurich, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver. He is represented in London, New York, Turin, and Zurich.
Shearer's photography, drawing, painting, and collage tend to focus on youth, alienation, aggression, melancholy, and heavy metal. His work has been described as controversial and challenging.
Shearer has received numerous funding awards from the BC Arts Council, including a $10,000 grant in 2010/11, to help him develop material for the Biennale. His participation in the Biennale also received $24,000 through the Touring Initiatives Program.