Clint Neufeld, Engines Made of Clay
Clint Neufeld, an artist based near Saskatoon in Osler, Saskatchewan, is ex-military and a former firefighter. His works embody the apparent contradictions between typically masculine pursuits and notions of beauty, ornamentation, and artistry. Taking the grease-monkey’s pre-occupation with muscle cars, he replicates the components of engines, transmissions, and axles in ceramic, finished like fine china, and sets them on elegant stands and furniture such as teacarts and chaises longues. The resulting sculptures ask viewers to consider men’s garage “tinkering” in terms of aesthetics, transformation, and even love. His exhibition, Gasoline Alley and Other Sunday Dreams by Clint Neufeld is on view through June 10, 2012.
Neufeld, who has been working as a professional artist for just five years, is a rising star in the Canadian art scene. In 2011, he had solo exhibitions at public art galleries across the country and was also the first runner-up to the national Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics. In 2012, his work is featured in the groundbreaking exhibition, Oh, Canada, at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, one of the premier institutions for contemporary art in the United States.
This is Neufeld’s first solo exhibition at the Mendel Art Gallery, organized by Associate Curator Jen Budney. It features new work as well as pieces borrowed from private and public collections. Neufeld’s sculptures were first exhibited here in the 2008 group exhibition, Flatlanders. Since then, he has had solo exhibitions at Montreal’s Parisian Laundry Gallery; Two Rivers Art Gallery in Prince George, British Columbia; the Estevan Art Gallery; and the Mann Gallery in Prince Albert.
Born in Saskatoon in 1975, Neufeld grew up in Warman. He completed his BFA at the University of Saskatchewan and received his MFA from Concordia University in Montreal.
