‘Sean Caulfield: Air Bleeder’ to be displayed in Rowe Galleries

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

The Department of Art & Art History will present “Sean Caulfield: Air Bleeder” in Rowe Galleries from Monday, Oct. 2, through Friday, Oct. 20. The department will host an artist lecture at 4 p.m., Oct. 2, followed by an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m.

Caulfield, a Centennial Professor in the Department of Art and Design at the University of Alberta, Canada, has exhibited his prints, drawings and artist’s books extensively throughout Canada, the United States, Europe and Japan.

Through installation, sculpture and printmaking, “Air Bleeder” considers the ways the environment is transformed by forces of urban and industrial growth.

"The visual images and environments I create blur boundaries between the biological and the technological, the organic and the mechanical, and challenge viewers to consider the implications of this merging," said Caulfield. "Central to my work is the role that society, community and the individual has in the moment of change. Focusing on broader themes of mutation, metamorphosis and regeneration involving both the landscape and the individuals that inhabit it, I aim to raise challenging questions for viewers about the role they play. Ultimately, my work focuses on the idea that crisis and change - whether it be environmental, political or personal - can be a significant and positive catalyst for rebirth, growth and courage."

Caulfield has received numerous grants and awards for his work, including the Special Award of the Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Krakow Triennial, 2015; SSHRC Dissemination Grant: Canadian Stem Cell Network Impact Grant; SSHRC Fine Arts Creation Grant; Canada Council Travel Grant; and a Visual Arts Fellowship, Illinois Arts Council. Caulfield’s work is in various public and private collections: Houghton Library at Harvard University; Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England; and the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas, Austin.

Photo (by Blaine Campbell): “The Flood,” a carved wood relief that is approximately 20-by-30 feet; it is on display at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Canada.