Award-Winning Artist to Give Shenkman Lecture
March 16, 2012 - News Release
British installation artist Mike Nelson will discuss his work and life during the sixth annual Shenkman Lecture on Contemporary Art March 21, 6 p.m., in War Memorial Hall.
Held by the School of Fine Art and Music (SOFAM), the event is free and open to the public.
Based in London, during the past decade Nelson has exhibited works in major group and solo shows internationally, including Venice, Sydney, Istanbul and Singapore. He has received the Paul Hamlyn Award and twice has been shortlisted for the Turner Prize.
“Mike Nelson is among the finest and most sought-after installation artists in the world,” said John Kissick, SOFAM director. “His presence in Guelph is a significant event that will challenge and inspire our students.”
Nelson creates narratives using objects and space, often including labyrinths for viewers to navigate. British artist and curator Richard Grayson has written essays on Nelson’s projects, titled “24A Orwell Street King’s Cross Sydney” and “The Deliverance and the Patience.”
“He is part architect, part storyteller, part social critic, and he is one helluva good carpenter,” says Robert Enright, University Research Professor in Art Criticism. Enright will join Nelson on stage.
The Shenkman lectures are funded through a donation by Dasha Shenkman, a Canadian art collector living in the United Kingdom.
In a concurrent event, SOFAM master’s students will open their campus studios from 1 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. in Blackwood Hall, the Firehall and Alexander Hall. Visitors may view and discuss new work with the artists.
For more information, visit www.uoguelph.ca/sofam/shenkman.
Contact:
Sandra Sabatini
Dean’s Office
College of Arts
University of Guelph
519-824-4120, Ext. 53869
sabatini@uoguelph.ca
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519-824-4120, Ext. 53338, or lhunt@uoguelph.ca, or Shiona Mackenzie, Ext. 56982, or shiona@uoguelph.ca.
