Russell Yuristy is a Canadian artist whose work is included in several major collections including the
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...
.
Yuristy was inducted as a member of the
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880.
History 1880 to 1890
The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...
in 2014.
Life and career
Yuristy was born in 1936 in
Goodeve, Saskatchewan
Goodeve ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Stanley No. 215 and Census Division No. 5. The village is the administrative centre of the Little Black Bear Cree First Natio ...
. He earned a BA from the
University of Saskatchewan
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in 1959. He continued his studies at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
earning an MSc in Art in 1967.
Yuristy returned to the University of Saskatchewan as instructor from 1967 to 1971. In 1969 and 1971, he also was employed as workshop coordinator at the
Emma Lake Artist's Workshops The Emma Lake Artists' Workshops are affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Summer art classes were originally taught by Augustus Kenderdine at Murray Point on Emma Lake in 1936. Kenneth Lochhead and Arthur McKay, professors ...
.
[
]David Gilhooly
David Gilhooly (also known as David James Gilhooly III) (April 15, 1943 – August 21, 2013), was an American Ceramic art, ceramicist, Sculpture, sculptor, Painting, painter, Printmaking, printmaker, and professor. He is best known for pioneer ...
arrived in Regina in the fall of 1969 to begin a two-year period teaching ceramics at the University of Regina. His ''California Funk'' work contrasted sharply with the more formal abstraction dominant in the department at his arrival. Yuristy and his colleague Joe Fafard
Joseph Fafard (September 2, 1942 – March 16, 2019) was a Canadian sculptor.
Biography
Joseph Fafard was a twelfth generation Canadian born in 1942 in Ste. Marthe, Saskatchewan, to French Canadians Leopold Fafard and Julienne Cantin. Fafard is ...
were sympathetic to the concerns addressed by Gilhooly's approach and began to incorporate them into their own work. Fafard included a portrait of Yuristy in the series of plaster busts he made of his department colleagues in 1970 and Gilhooley included a casserole referencing Yuristy in his show ''Baboons Viewing an Exhibition of Frog Art'' from the same year.
Yuristy set up a studio in Silton, Saskatchewan
Silton ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of McKillop No. 220 and Census Division No. 6.
History
Silton incorporated as a village on July 2, 1914.
Demographics
In the 20 ...
in 1970 where he worked on ink drawings of both animals and humans travelling in imaginary vehicles. Fafard suggested that Yuristy might take these drawings and turn them into actual constructions. This led to a successful application to fund the creation of playground structures and the eventual formation of the Creative Playground Workshop.[ Yuristy designed and built playground sculptures in the form of animals in Ottawa, Spokane (for Expo 74), Churchill, Vancouver (for Expo '86), Swift Current, Saskatoon and Regina.]
Fafard introduced Yuristy to working in clay in 1972 and he included Yuristy's work in the 1973 show 'The Regina Ceramists' which drew national attention to the Regina ceramics scene. Over the next few years, this led to exhibition opportunities outside of Saskatchewan for Yuristy with other Regina artists even though he later put aside his work in clay to concentrate on large public sculpture, painting and printmaking. Notably this included the national survey exhibition 'Canada Trajectoires 73' organized by the Canada Council
The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...
and held in Paris at le Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris.[
In 1981 the ]Dunlop Art Gallery
The Regina Public Library is the citywide public library system of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Services
*Information and reference services
*Access to full text databases
*Community information
*Internet access
*Reader's advisory services
...
organized 'Russell Yuristy, Sculpture 1971–1981 in Photographs and Drawings', which toured to the Swift Current National Exhibition Centre.
Yuristy began teaching at the University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...
in 1986 and later at the Ottawa School of Art
The Ottawa School of Art is a non-profit art school in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school offers a one-year certificate program, a three-year diploma program, art camps, and general interest courses, as well as providing exhibition s ...
. He moved to Montreal in 1993 and then returned to Ottawa in 1998.
Works
*1984 Saskatchewan Rain, CBC Building, Regina
*1992 Fish, City Hall, Ottawa
*1994 Switch Hitter, Ottawa Baseball Stadium
Collections
Yuristy's work is represented in the Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa; Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec; Department of External Affairs, Ottawa; Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina; MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina; Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Ottawa Art Gallery; and the Saskatchewan Arts Board in Regina.[
]
Further reading
Yuristy, Russell, Canadian Heritage Information Network
Citations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuristy, Russell
1936 births
Living people
Canadian printmakers
Canadian sculptors
Canadian male sculptors
Sculptors from Saskatchewan
Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
Artists from Saskatchewan