Chris Pew interviews this Montreal based artist before his show that opens at Receiver Saturday July 14th and runs till Aug 11th here in SF.
My names is Shawn Kuruneru (sh-on ku-ru-nair-ru). I was born in Toronto, grew up in Newmarket, Ontario and now I'm living and working in Montreal, Quebec.
The clusters of faces are about simultaneity, repetition and my interest in portraiture. My work is an amalgam of drawing and collage which is why there is strange juxtapositions and repeated imagery. I edit, layer, cut, distort and simplify a lot of my drawings. I like the idea that there will never be a singular perfect version of something.
Shangri-Lost is a group show I did with my pals Jimmy Limit and Jesse Harris. We kinda came up with the idea after lots of late nights hanging out together in Toronto. We share a lot of the same interests but none of us went to the same schools so we never really had a chance to work together till now. The plan is to do a Shangri-Lost tour, so far we've shown at Le Gallery in Toronto, Ontario and My Hero Gallery in Montreal, Quebec. Our friend Ali Sunderji recently wrote an essay about the project and is working on a catalogue.
I recently curated a group show in Montreal at the Grover Building called "GROW YR HAIR, GIVE FUN A CHANCE". It was one night with 19 artists, two floors, barbecue, fondu and performances. The next show I? curating is at Montreal? lesbian hair cutting bike shop, its going to be titled "FUN IS GAY" and my friend Colin Engel is going to do daredevil bike stunts while getting a hair cut.
My drawings aren't really affected, but with other mediums like painting I have been recently. I've painted more nature still lifes and just finished a black Canadian flag, but thats a whole other thing.
From my experience the Montreal art scene has been good. There are lots of festivals, events and organizations like Puce Pop, Art Pop, Expozine, Indyish, Etc. Those are good ways for people to see your work, and because Montreal is pretty small, after a short time you get to know lots of people in the art-scene.
Not yet, I? beginning to look into it though.
Nope I have three jobs right now. One of them is at a bar called Bifteck where I dj and they pay me with beer.
life. LIFE.
d'accord!
I make a lot of references to historical and contemporary art because I relate to it and I'm interested in visual tradition. My drawings are about appropriation, revisiting and reworking material as a way to explore and create new connections.
I drew for a comic company in British Columbia once in high-school and I used to intern at Drawn & Quarterly when I was in University. I like a lot of Drawn & Quarterly comics.
I make zines of different projects I've worked on, then trade them and mail them to friends and whoever wants one. I also made a website with sitekreator, I'm working on an official site - trying to keep everything simple in terms of promoting myself.
With my drawings yes.
I don't really have a routine when it comes to making art, just as long as I keep making work and I'm working on new projects. Somedays I will work a lot and other days I wont make anything but I'll spend the day in the library or something.
I re-read Summer of Love by Debbie Drechsler recently.
I play in a band with Jimmy, called 'FUNDUE' - don't make fun, make fun happen!
If you're in San Francisco, be sure to stop through Receiver Gallery Saturday, July 14th for the opening of Rapture VS Rupture featuring works from Los Angeles' Andrew Hem and Montreal's Shawn Kuruneru. The show runs till August 11th. {moscomment}
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