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Known as Canada’s pioneering
conceptual artist, Iain Baxter& has for some forty years
produced daring, singular and sensitive works and ideas that
have surprised and destabilized both critics and the public.
His initial academic training was in zoology and biology, followed
by studies in the psychology of education, philosophy and fine
arts, as well as Zen philosophy, thanks to a scholarship accorded
by the japanese government. This eclectic journey was to lay
the foundations for a prolific artistic practice. In 1966, Baxter&
gained attention with his installation Bagged Place,
a reconstitution of a complete modern home, including furniture
and day-to-day objects—all carefully bagged in clear plastic.
The same year, he founded N.E. Thing Co. (the enterprise was
a joint venture of Baxter& and his partner Ingrid, but was
dissolved in 1978 when the couple separated). Via the company,
he developed an aesthetics that questioned the accepted structures
involved in the creation and production of works of art, the
system of art and its marketing mechanisms, as well as the very
organization of thought. Iain Baxter& was also the first
artist working in Canada to exploit various practices: these
included the first installation, the first use of a lightbox,
and the first experimentation with information technologies
whereby he was able to create art works “remotely.”
In the process Baxter& devised a way of doing, and of thinking,
that was to earn him recognition among critics and curators
abroad (he took part in projects initiated by Germano Celant,
Lucy Lippard and Seth Siegelaub for instance) and allowed him
to show his work at international events (in 1969, he represented
Canada at the Bienal de São Paulo). Since winding up
N.E. Thing Co. in 1978, Baxter& has pursued his
artistic career both solo and in collaboration with others (in
recent years he has produced works in tandem with Louise Chance
Baxter), questioning more specifically the system of capital,
commodification and objects and the way we live in, treat and
consider the lanscape and environment. His achievements have
been recognized via major prizes and distinctions, among them
the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize, the Governor-General’s
Award in Visual and Media Arts, and appointments as a member
of the Royal Canadian Academy, Officer of the Order of Canada
and a Honorary Doctorate from University of British Columbia.
He was also made Professor Emeritus by the University of Windsor
before his retirement from its Visual Arts department.
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