Houses of Credit Cards
Shawn Shepherd – Victoria CANADA
PROJECT STATEMENT
Shawn Shepherd’s recent paintings and sculpture are informed by the juncture of art and the economy. The artist has resided in the downtown core of Victoria for thirty years and is witness to the developmental changes that continue to occur at a rapid pace. As the architecture increases in verticality, so does the cost of living. Shepherd provides the viewer with multiple modes to interpret his work by appropriating the credit card form as a method to build subject matter in both his paintings and sculpture.
The House of Credit Cards paintings, 3d printed Credit Card Condos and recycled plexiglass Mini High-rise sculptures in this exhibition, speak metaphorically to the surge in the cost of living in Victoria as well as other Canadian cities. Homeowners often endure a relationship with some form of credit. These works also allude to the shift in value that occurs upon the sale of a work of art. Just as the delicate card structure in each painting is tiered, so is the art market and the high-rise Shepherd resides in.
ARTIST BIO
Shawn Shepherd is a multidisciplinary visual artist living in a high-rise in Victoria, BC. His painting practice spans twenty-nine years and has been informed by numerous interests such as human identity, consumer culture, art history, and notions of painting. Shawn is a recent graduate of the University of Victoria MFA Program.
Shawn Shepherd has been working as a multidisciplinary artist in Victoria, BC, for just over twenty-five years. His paintings, prints, and sculpture, have been informed by numerous interests such as human identity, commercial culture, and the history embedded in found objects. His current work borrows aesthetic properties from design, architecture, vernacular typography, and digital printing technology.
Shepherd’s art also engages the viewer through the employment of a colour palette he has developed through the study of nature, advertising, art history, and colour theory. Value is the binding narrative of Shepherd’s latest work that emerged through his comparative research into the digital currency market, the housing market, and the art market.