JOE FAFARD

Joe Fafard, born in 1942, lived most of his life in small rural communities in Saskatchewan. He attended the University of Manitoba and Pennsylvania State University, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts, respectively. Fafard was widely recognized as being at the forefront of his practice, and his contributions to the arts have significantly raised the profile of Saskatchewan on the national stage. His work is held in numerous collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the Glenbow Museum, and the Mackenzie Art Gallery. Fafard was named an Officer of the Order of Canada (1981), was awarded the Architectural Institute of Canada Allied Arts Award (1987), received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (2002), and earned the Saskatchewan Arts Board Lifetime Achievement Award (2007).

In the mid 1980s, Fafard shifted to bronze as his primary sculptural medium. Fafard’s work in bronze became his trademark and is displayed across Canada. Fafard imbued a sense of playfulness in his depictions of the everyday. His insight and humour characterized his portraits of neighbours, farm animals, wildlife, and famous artists that he came to respect. This piece, Jimenez, is a horse in mid-gallop. The horse balances his hind legs on a small rock slab while his front legs are lifted up. This, coupled with the movement in his mane and tail, prompt the viewer to envision an imagined backdrop of wide-open plains.

Jimenez

2014, bronze sculpture with powder-coating

Signed and dated

Edition 3/7

22 ¼ x 32 x 8 in, 56.5 x 81.3 x 20.3 cm

Value $28,000

Donated by The Estate of Joe Fafard, courtesy of Heffel Fine Art Auction House and JVGallery.ca

Lot #04

Lacey Jane Wilburn is a contemporary artist most notable for her work as a muralist and oil painter. Wilburn studied Fine Art at MacEwan University in Edmonton and then graduated from Montreal’s Concordia University in 2016. She has received several awards and scholarships including the Yves Gaucher Prize in Studio Arts (2016), the D.L. Stevenson Colour Scholarship for Academic Excellence (2014), and the Francis Henderson Klingle Scholarship for Fine Art (2009). Wilburn currently resides in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations and is completing a Master of Fine Arts at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

Wilburn specializes in narrative portraiture, creating “intimate glimpses into moments of sincerity in everyday life.” Her piece, Sleepless, is a living room scene washed in a teal blue light. An overstuffed armchair is the focal point of the composition, placed directly in the centre of the room and between two windows which provide columns of bright light that beam into the space. The glass table in the foreground reflects this light beautifully, and splashes of red throughout the composition move the viewer’s eye around the room. This is a scene many of us are familiar with. A dark room you wander into when you cannot sleep, illuminated only by the lights outside. Through her use of colour and composition, Wilburn creates a stillness and silence that encapsulates those sleepless nights.