Quick Facts
Biography
Joseph Fafard, OC SOM (born September 2, 1942) is a Canadian sculptor.
Biography
Born in Sainte-Marthe, Saskatchewan, in 1942 to Leopold Fafard and Julienne Cantin whose families both date back centuries in Canada. Joe is a descendant of Jacques Goulet. He received a B.S.A from the University of Manitoba in 1966 and a M.F.A. from Pennsylvania State University in 1968. From 1968 to 1974, he taught sculpture at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus (now the University of Regina). He was visiting lecturer at the University of California, Davis in 1980-1981. Recognized for his outstanding contribution to the arts in Canada, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981 and was awarded the Architectural Institute of Canada Allied Arts Award in 1987. He also received an Honorary Degree from the University of Regina in 1989.
Fafard sculpted in plaster and ceramics in the early part of his career, but switched to bronze as his primary medium in the 1980s. In 1985 he opened the Julienne Atelier foundry in Pense, Saskatchewan. His art is heavily influenced by his Saskatchewan surroundings, and includes life-sized bronze cows, horses and pigs.
Fafard's works were featured on a series of postage stamps issued by Canada Post in 2012. The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa installed his colourful Running Horses (2007) in 2011 adjacent to the Sussex Drive entrance.
Public works
Joe Fafard's sculptural work, "The Pasture" (1985), Toronto Dominion Centre, Toronto, Ontario Canada
Joe Fafard's sculptural work, "The Pasture" (1985), Toronto Dominion Centre, Toronto, Ontario Canada
Joe Fafard's sculptural work, Paskwamostos, Edmonton, Alberta
Joe Fafard's sculptural work, Nurture Nature (1993), Toronto, Ontario Canada
- Oskana-Ka-Ashteki, downtown Regina, Saskatchewan (1997)
- Claudia, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (2003)
Awards
- Officer of the Order of Canada, 1981
- Medal in Allied Arts, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, 1987
- Honorary Doctorate Degree, University of Regina, 1989
- Saskatchewan Order of Merit, 2002
- National Prix Montfort, 2003
- Lieutenant Governor's Saskatchewan Centennial Medal for the Arts, 2005
- CTV Citizen of the Year in 2006
- Honorary Doctorate Degree, University of Manitoba, 2007
- Saskatchewan Arts Board Lifetime Achievement Award, 2007