Picture of Susan Shantz

Susan Shantz B.A., M.A., M.F.A

Professor, Sculpture & Extended Media

Faculty Member in Art & Art History

Office
Murray Building 290

Research Area(s)

  • Material ways of knowing
  • Ritual and gesture
  • Culture and nature
  • Art as a cultural performance

About me

Artistic Research Website

Undergraduate Program Chair, 2018 - 2022                                                             

Department Head 2007-2013

Publications

Exhibition Catalogue Publications

“Susan Shantz: Flow and Vigilance,” Patrick Mahon in Susan Shantz: Confluence, Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery exhibition publication, 2022.

“Confluence,” Jennifer McRorie, Director/Curator, in Susan Shantz: Confluence, Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery exhibition publication, 2022.

“Dark Rituals, Magical Relics from the little art spell book,” Louise Martin-Chew in Dark Rituals, Magical Relics. USC Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia, 2018 (exhibition publication; Shantz, pp. 96-103).

“Ritual Practice and the Importance of Belonging,” Dr. Ginna Bock in Dark Rituals, Magical Relics. USC Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia, 2018 (exhibition publication; Shantz, pp. 96-103).

“Invocation,” Beata Batorowicz & Megan Williams in Dark Rituals, Magical Relics. USC Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia, 2018 (exhibition publication; Shantz, pp. 96-103).

"Susan Shantz: Creatures in Translation". Co-published by Kenderdine Art Gallery (University of Saskatchewan); Illingworth Kerr Gallery (Alberta College of Art and Design) and Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre, Medicine Hat, AB. Foreword: Kent Archer and Wayne Baerwaldt; 64 pgs, 28 images reproduced, 2013; includes: “Invention, Error and Evolution,” Joanne Marion (p. 9 – 16); “Susan Shantz: Polytypes,” Bruce Russell (p. 49 – 53) and “A Third Space, X-Y-Z,” Diana Sherlock (p. 55 – 64).       

Selection of Publications (by Year)

  • Shantz, S, Scott, Michael. "Choice and Surprise" Review of Vancouver Sun
  • Shantz, S, Borsa, Joan. "Performing Interconnectedness". n.paradoxa 3 (1999): 24-29.
  • Shantz, S, Beatty, Greg. "Satiate: Susan Shantz" Review of Espace
  • Shantz, S, Redekop, Magdelene. "The Painted Body Stares Back" Review of Conrad Grebel Review
  • Shantz, S, Anderson, Jack. "Susan Shantz: Satiate" Review of The Regina Leader-Post
  • Shantz, S, Newdigate, Ann. "Susan Shantz: hibernaculum" Review of Canadian Art

Artistic Works

Recent activities include significant solo exhibitions across Canada and in the USA and participation in numerous group exhibitions. Shantz has given lectures about her work at numerous galleries and universities. Catalogues of the solo exhibitions were produced by several galleries and include essays by esteemed national and international art critics. Her artwork has been reviewed in national art publications and is represented on the website of The Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art.

Exhibitions of her work include the solo show of new river-related work, Confluence, in Moose Jaw, SK and Medicine Hat, AB, the international group show, Dark Rituals, Magical Relics (Queensland and Tasmania, Australia) and the traveling solo exhibition, creatures in translation (using 3D printing technologies and shown at the Esplanade, Illingworth Kerr, Kenderdine, Dunlop AG as well as at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery). Exhibitions of previous bodies of work include chamber at the Art Gallery of Regina (2011), canopy at the Mendel Gallery (2006), satiate at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (2005), Ste. Hyacinthe, PQ (2003) and the MacKenzie AG, Regina and Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge (1998). She has also exhibited work at the Natalie and James Thompson Gallery, San Jose, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Ace Art, Winnipeg, Eastern Edge, St. John's Nfld among other venues and received grants from the Canada Council, the Saskatchewan Arts Board and the B.C. Arts Council. Her work is included in numerous public and private collections including the Saskatchewan Arts Board and the Canada Council.

In addition to her artistic production, Shantz has written about her artwork and that of other cultural producers including essays in the anthologies, Reclaiming the Spiritual in Art: Contemporary Cross-cultural Perspectives (SUNY Press, 1999) and Undisciplined Women: Tradition and Culture in Canada (McGill-Queens, 1997). Her research on contemporary art and religion was published as The Stations of the Cross: A Calculated Trap? (UWO Press, 1991). More recently she has been a co-author for journal articles considering art in collaborative research with water scientists (Sustainability Science, 2019; Engaged Scholar Journal, 2015). 


Selected Exhibitions:

Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, Moose Jaw, SK, Solo exhibition, 2022

Duggan House (Esplanade Gallery), Medicine Hat, AB, Solo exhibition, 2019

Academy Gallery, Tasmania, Australia. Group exhibition, 2019

AKA Artist Center, Saskatoon, SK. Group exhibition, 2019

USC Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia. Group exhibition, 2018

Esplanade Art Gallery, Medicine Hat, AB. Solo exhibition, 2015

Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB. Solo exhibition, 2014

Kenderdine Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK. Solo exhibition, 2013

Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON, Solo exhibition, 2012

Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, SK, Solo exhibition, 2012

Art Gallery of Regina, Regina, SK, Solo exhibition, 2011

Kenderdine Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK, Group exhibition, 2010

Gladstone Hotel Gallery, Toronto, ON, Group exhibition, 2009

Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK, Solo exhibition, 2006

Art Galley of Prince Albert, SK, Solo exhibition, 2006

Art Gallery of Hamilton, SK, Group exhibition, 2005

Art Gallery of Medicine Hat, AB, Solo exhibition, 2003

Expression, Ste. Hyacinthe, PQ, Solo exhibition, 2003

Natalie and James Thompson Gallery, San Jose State University, Solo exhibition, 2001

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, B.C., Collaboration with K. Sellars, 2000

Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, AB, Solo exhibition, 1998


Selected Grants:

Saskatchewan Arts Board, Travel Grant, 2012

Saskatchewan Arts Board, Visual Arts Grant, 2011

Saskatchewan Arts Board, Visual Arts Grant, 2008

U of S Research Services, President's SSHRC Grant, 2007

Saskatchewan Arts Board, Visual Arts Grant, 2005

B.C. Arts Council Grant, 2001

The Canada Council for the Arts 'B' Grant, 1999

Saskatchewan Arts Board 'B' Grant, 1998

Teaching & Supervision

TEACHING RECOGNITIONS:

Teaching Excellence Award, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, 2017

Provost’s Project Grant for Innovative Practice in Collaborative Teaching and Learning 2016

TEACHING AREAS:

Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced Sculpture courses 

Special Topic courses connecting teaching and research: Clay Then and Now (2021); Becoming Water (2017); Antipods: Magical Creatures (2015); Tradition/Innovation: Icons/Thangkas (2008); Material Space (2007); Reconsidering the Spiritual in Art (2006)

Research

art and craft culture extended media ritual sculpture

Susan Shantz has a M.F.A. in Sculpture/Interdisciplinary Art (York), a M.A. (with Distinction) in Religion and Culture (Wilfrid Laurier) and a B.A. in English Literature (Goshen College, Indiana).

She teaches sculpture and multi-media studio practices. Her artwork consists of mixed-media works, often sculptural in form, that explore embodied ways of knowing. She is interested in ritual and gesture, the culture of nature, and the ways in which art arises from these considerations to become cultural performance. Her materials and processes of making are varied and derive from a range of conceptual concerns.

Education & Training

MFA York University, Toronto, ON (1989)

MA (Thesis Award) Wilfrid Laurier University (1985)

BA English, Goshen College, Indiana (1980)

Awards & Honours

  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship, awarded by January 1989
  • Odette Award, awarded by Toronto Sculpture Garden Competition Finalist January 1989
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship, awarded by January 1988
  • York University Tuition Scholarship, awarded by York University January 1987
  • Dean's Award, awarded by Outstanding Graduate Thesis, Wilfrid Laurier University January 1985
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship, awarded by January 1984
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship, awarded by January 1983
  • Juror's Award, awarded by Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery January 1982