Steven Shearer, Sorry Steve, 1999, ink in paper.
Collection of the artist.
Vancouver’s Steven Shearer is celebrated for his works that investigate the cultures of, and links between, youth, Heavy Metal, and the avant-garde. His sculptures, prints, collages, paintings, murals and drawings approach class, gender, and alienation with a keen sense of absurdity that is rarely applied to such subjects. The first major survey of Shearer’s work is in Toronto, at the Power Plant through February 10, 2008.
The raw material for Shearer’s works comes from his image bank of some 36,000 JPEGs, clippings, Xeroxes, reproductions, and found snapshots. As he recycles these pictures, Shearer looks for visual rhymes and puns, formal and thematic associations that reveal unexpected, frequently hilarious, affinities. The results revel in the anger, aggression, and creative opposition that bubble beneath polite society’s surface. Shearer’s fascination with the art historical resonances in contemporary life emerges in works throughout the show, from collages and sculptures to portraits of long-haired androgynous men and 1970s teen idols.
