A detail from a painting by Steven Shearer, titled The Collector's Visit, dated 2019.

 (b. 1968) has developed a painting practice that weds canonical art history to the contemporary moment, specifically its more plebeian or subterranean expressions. His work, which also includes drawing, assemblage, sculpture, and installation, deploys a wide range of references as well as a vast archive of historical and contemporary found images.

Shearer was born in New Westminster, Canada, and earned his BFA in 1992 from the Emily Carr University of Art & Design in Vancouver, where he continues to live and work.

The artist’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at prominent institutions worldwide. A solo presentation of Shearer’s work, 

, is on view at The George Economou Collection, Athens, until March 2024. The exhibition coincides with the release of a major monograph on the artist’s work, 

, which was published by DCV with an essay by Dieter Roelstraete.

In 2016, the Brant Foundation Art Study Center in Greenwich, Connecticut, hosted a retrospective that included paintings, drawings, collages, and poems by the artist. A comprehensive monograph, which includes an interview with the artist by author Jim Lewis, accompanied the exhibition.

In 2011, Shearer represented Canada at the 54th Venice Biennale with the exhibition 

, the title of which was taken from the 1989 song by British metal band Carcass. The presentation included a mural-sized work from his 

 series set upon a multi-story façade that fully obscured the Canadian Pavilion.

Double Album: Daniel Guzmán and Steven Shearer

, a two-person exhibition, was on view at the New Museum, New York, in 2008, before traveling to MUCA Gallery at the University Museum of Arts and Sciences, Mexico City. Earlier solo presentations of Shearer’s work were held at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto (2007); Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom (2007); and the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (2004).

In 2024, a solo presentation of the artist’s work, 

, was held at David Zwirner, New York, marking his first exhibition with the gallery.

Shearer’s work is included in prominent museum and public collections worldwide, among them the Kunsthaus Zürich; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; M HKA – Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, Antwerp; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Rubell Museum, Miami; and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Steven Shearer, The Collector's Visit, 2019

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A photo by Steven Shearer, titled "Whiskered Sentinel," dated 2023

533 New York

Profaned Travelers

Steven Shearer

Split

Read more about Steven Shearer, including excerpts from selected press articles and publications.

Steven Shearer - Selected Press

Frieze, review by Chloe Stead

Steven Shearer Looks Beyond the Veil

Border Crossings, interview with Steven Shearer

Get It While You Can

Monopol Magazin

Ignorance Can Be A Real Blessing For Artists

Artforum, review by Mitchell Anderson

Time Out, review of The Late Follower

Steven Shearer, “The Late Follower”

Interview Magazine, article by Matt Mullen

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The Collector's Visit

Stairs

The Ornamentalist and Apprentice

Bad Cast (Detail)

Bad Cast

Night Train

The Fauves

Puffs

Poem for Berlin

AsABoy

Longhairs

Larry in Germany

Hairy

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 (2011). Installation view, Canada Pavilion, LIV Venice Biennale, 2011. Photo by Stefan Altenburger

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Steven Shearer - Artworks & Biography

David Zwirner is an art gallery with locations in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Hong Kong. We present physical and online exhibitions, podcasts, books, and more.

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