Gordon Snelgrove Gallery

Saskatoon artist Susan Shantz presents a series of sculptures and prints in this exhibition entitled creatures in translation. Her work encompasses a fascinating process of drawing upon on-line photographic sources to remake a selection of 20th century Japanese ceramic animal effigy teapots from the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria's permanent collection. Shantz uses three-dimensional computer clay modeling software technology and a haptic tool to recreate the selected badger, sparrow and frog pots in two and three-dimensional forms of varying sizes. Such an exhibition questions "the ubiquitous manufactured versions of nature in our culture," while focusing on how virtual treatment of art generates a loss of cultural information.

Susan Shantz graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from York University in 1989 and currently teaches sculpture and mixed media in the Department of Art and Art History, University of Saskatchewan. Her work has been featured in public and artist-run galleries across Canada including: Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Definitely Superior, Thunder Bay and Galerie Articule, Montreal. Among the numerous permanent holdings that feature Shantz's art are: Saskatchewan Arts Board, Canada Council Art Bank, MacKenzie Art Gallery and the Burlington Cultural Centre.