| Nationally and internationally
acclaimed artist, Joe Fafard, was born to French-Canadian
parents in the small agricultural community of Ste. Marthe,
Saskatchewan. He attended the University of Manitoba (BFA
1966) and Pennsylvania State University (MFA 1968). He was
at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina from 1968 to
1974 and visiting lecturer at the University of California
at Davis in 1980 1981. Joe Fafard is a distinguished
full-time artist and sculptor who currently resides on an
acreage near Lumsden, Saskatchewan.
Mr. Fafard is one of Canada's
leading professional visual artists and has exhibitions of
a wide variety of work in galleries and museums across the
country and around the world, including the United States,
Great Britain, France and Japan. He is widely recognized
as being at the forefront of his art, and his outstanding
contributions to the arts have significantly raised the
profile of both Saskatchewan and Canada on the national
stage. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in
1981; awarded the Architectural Institute of Canada Allied
Arts Award in 1987; received an honorary Degree from the
University of Regina in 1989; received the Saskatchewan
Order of Merit in 2002; received the National Prix
Montfort in 2003, and most recently in 2005, the
Lieutenant Governor's Saskatchewan Centennial Medal for
the Arts.
In the early 1970s, much of his
sculpture used clay as a medium. In 1985, he shifted to
bronze as his chief sculptural medium, successfully
establishing a foundry in Pense. His insight and humour
characterize his portraits of neighbours, farm animals,
and famous artists that he came to respect as he learned
his craft. His work in bronze is displayed across Canada
and his 'cows' have become one of his trademarks..
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