Artist Brian Jungen to represent Vancouver at Shanghai Biennale

Brian Jungen will be the artist representing Vancouverat the 2012 Shanghai Biennale, an international contemporary artforumbeginning Oct. 2.

Jungen, who is of Swiss and Dunne-za First Nations heritage, will represent the city of Vancouver at the Biennale, which is presenting city pavilions for the first time in its 16-year history.

Vancouver is the only Canadian city selected.

Popular installations from shoes, plastic chairs

The Vancouver Art Gallery chose Jungen, saying that his work adheres to the Biennale's theme of reactivation.

Among the internationally known artist's most popular works are Prototype for New Understanding #2, in which he transforms Nike sneakers into Northwest Coast native masks, and Cetology, in which cut-up plastic patio chairs are fashioned into a whale-like skeleton.

"Almost everything in our society is disposable and I want to slow down that mass deterioration into the landfill, and channel it into another direction, into the museum," Jungen said in a statement issued by the VAG.

Born in Fort St. John, B.C., Jungengraduated from Vancouver's Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in 1992. He was the inaugural winner of the Sobey Art Award in 2002 andwon prestigiousthe Gershon Iskowitz Prizein 2010. His self-titled solo show has travelled to New York, Rotterdam and Munich, while Washington's Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian has also staged a major retrospective of his work.

International showcase

VAG director Kathleen Bartels says the gallery is participating in the Shanghai Biennale as part of its commitment tothe artists of Asia Pacific.

"This prestigious event represents a unique opportunity to showcase one of our pre-eminent artists on the international stage and were delighted to take part in this important presentation with colleagues and other major art institutions from around the world," she said.

The Vancouver gallery's chief curator, Daina Augaitis, is populating thepavilionwith Jungen works from the VAG's collection.

Other cities participating in the Shanghai Biennale include Amsterdam, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Mumbai, San Francisco andTehran. About 600,000 to 800,000 people are expected to visit theBiennale between Oct. 2 andMarch31, 2013. The cities event remains until Dec. 31.

The Biennale will take place in the new Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum, which is housed in a restored thermal plant.