Shane Wilson is a sculptor who has lived and worked in Yukon and British Columbia, Canada. His principal mediums are antler, horn, ivory, and bronze, from which he creates sculpture in his signature style, a juxtaposition of abstract organic and non-organic shapes, best seen in his moose skull sculpture "Duality".
Originally beginning with other art forms which included drawing, acrylic painting and clay sculpture, his interest in antler carving was sparked in 1985 when he attended a show of antler carvings by Maureen Morris, a well-known sculptor from Atlin, British Columbia.
After moving to the Yukon in 1987, Shane began experimenting with antler carving and found great creative and tactile potential in the medium. He has since worked in antler, bone, horn, mammoth tusk, stone, and now bronze.
His bronze series entitled "Skullpture" includes cast, carved skulls of moose, wolf, seal, grizzly and black bear, human and wolverine.
Shane has taught the art of antler carving during Red Deer College's "Series: Summer School of the Visual Arts".
In 2006, Shane was commissioned to create three torches to be used in the pan-Northern Relay prior to the 2007 Canada Winter Games. Each torch was carved from a full caribou antler, and each was representative of one of the three Canadian Territories.
On Saturday, September 15, 2007, Whitehorse, Yukon was hit by the "Great Antler Heist" or "Yukon's Thomas Crown Affair", as it was variously dubbed in the national media.
During an unplanned, city-wide power outage at approximately 6:30 am, a thief or thieves broke into the Canada Games Center and stole the giant piece "Yukon Seasons", carved from a complete moose skull and antler set. It was the only item taken during the brazen robbery.
On April 8, 2008 an anonymous person returned Yukon Seasons to the Whitehorse detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The person was not associated with the theft, according to the RCMP spokesperson. Apart from some discolouration and a broken tine (recovered at the scene of the crime), Yukon Seasons was recovered intact.
On December 2, 2008, the restored Yukon Seasons was unveiled to the public in its old home at the Canada Games Centre in Whitehorse, Yukon. Valery Monahan, a conservator with the Yukon Government, performed the restorative work on the sculpture. Yukon Government Minister for Tourism and Culture, Elaine Taylor and Whitehorse Mayor, Pam Buckway, were on hand for the opening and spoke at the event. Shane Wilson was also in attendance and thanked those who helped with the recovery and restoration of the sculpture.
Sculpted Dimensions Buckhorn Fine Art Festival, Buckhorn, Ontario, Canada, 2011
International Year of the Forests Exhibition, Algonquin Art Centre, Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada, 2011
Art of the Commons, Wildlife Art Journal (online), Jan - Feb 2011
Art of the Commons, Wildlife Art Journal (online), Spring 2010
Instructors' Show - Series: Summer School for the Visual Arts, Red Deer College Library, Red Deer College, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, 2008
The Art of Change: Works from the Yukon Permanent Art Collection, Yukon Arts Centre Gallery, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, 2005
Explore and Embrace a Special Wild Place, (Sponsored by The Wildlife Viewing Program, Yukon Government, in collaboration with the Yukon Art Society, Yukon Art Society Gallery, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, 2005
The Vernacular of Robert Service Festival Show, MacBride Museum, Whitehorse, Yukon, 2005
Tenth Anniversary Annual Robert Service Dinner: Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Robert Service's Arrival in Yukon, "The Shooting of Dan McGrew", 2004
The International Exhibitions of Sculptural Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) 2004, Accepted to attend with Portfolio as a member of Canada's Trade Mission, organized by the Canadian Consulate General in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2004
Instructors' Show - Series: Summer School for the Visual Arts, Red Deer College Library, Red Deer College, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, 2004
Grand Opening Show, Yukon Artists @ Work Gallery, Whitehorse, Yukon, 2004
Redism.com: A New Kind of Art Gallery: Virtual Art Competition and Gallery (sponsored by Bass Beer): First Place - Sculpture, 2003
Yukon Arts Centre Gallery Tenth Anniversary Show, Yukon Arts Centre Gallery, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, June–July 2002
FNAWS - Foundation for North American Wild Sheep Convention, 2001, Reno, Nevada, USA, 2001
Euroart 2000, Barcelona, Spain, (selected by Euroart 2000 to represent Canada), 2000
New Beginnings, Odd Gallery - Grand Opening, Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, (Gallery and Show opened by Her Excellency, the Right Honorable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada), 2000
Convergence: The Exhibition of the 2000 Arctic Winter Games, Yukon Arts Centre Gallery, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, (Show opened by Her Excellency, the Right Honorable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada), 2000
Light, Yukon Arts Centre Gallery, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, 1999
Northern Encounters '99: A Circumpolar Festival of the Arts,Toronto and Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada, 1999
Love, Romance and Erotica, The Guild, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, 1999
The Great Northern Arts Festival, Inuvik, NWT., Canada, 1998
The Fireweed Festival, Faro, Yukon, Canada, (First Place: Carving, Fine Art), 1998
Whitehorse International Airport, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada (Ongoing display 1997–2001)
Yukon Native Products, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada (Show and demonstration), 1996
Arts-Fest 95, Faro, Yukon, Canada, 1995
Public collections and commissions
The Four Seasons Hotel Toronto Contemporary Art Collection: "Candle Ice Two", 2012
The Haines Junction Permanent Art Collection: "Skullpture Series - Gaia, 2009" (Donated in full by the artist), 2009
The Yukon Arts Centre Gallery Permanent Collection: "Self Portrait, 2009" (Donated by Earl Bennett and the artist), 2009
The Yukon Arts Centre Gallery Permanent Collection:"Candle Ice, 1999", 2008
The Haines Junction Permanent Art Collection: "Skullpture Series, 2007" (Fourteen works in bronze, donated in full by the artist), 2007
The Governments of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut: Three Torches representing Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut (each Torch donated by the Canada Winter Games Host Society to the respective Territory for permanent display, 2007)
The Whitehorse 2007 Canada Winter Games: Three Torches representing Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut (Commissioned by Touch The North Inc. for donation to the Canada Winter Games Host Society, 2006)
The Yukon Permanent Art Collection: "Yukon Seasons, 2003" (Donated in full to the Yukon Permanent Art Collection by the artist, dedicated, with gratitude, to Ruth McCullough, for her hard work and singular dedication to fostering visual art and fine craft in Yukon, 2006)
The Yukon Hospital Foundation: "Tundra Swan, 2007" (commissioned as a symbol for the "Under Our Wings" Fundraising Campaign, 2005
J.C. Wilson Chemicals Ltd.: "Humpback Breaching, 2005"
The Collection of Yukon Member of Parliament, the Hon. Larry Bagnell: "The Shooting of Dan McGrew, 2004" (On Loan to the MacBride Museum, Whitehorse, Yukon), 2004
The Collection of The Right Honourable Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada: "Yukon Voice, 2004" (commissioned by the Yukon Territorial Government as a gift, upon his visit to Yukon, August 13–14), 2004
Redism.com: A New Kind of Art Gallery: Virtual Art Competition and Gallery (sponsored by Bass Beer): First Place - Sculpture, 2003
The Grand Slam Club: "Faro Fannin, 2001", for Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS) Convention, 2001
The Collection of Yukon Supreme Court Justice, the Hon. Ron Veale: "Denali, 2000" (on display in his Chambers), 2000
The Yukon Permanent Art Collection: "Raven: Bringer of Light, 1999" (acquired for the Collection by the Friends of the Gallery, 2000)
Arctic Winter Games 2000: "Denali, 2000" (representing Team Alaska), 2000
City of Dawson: "Five Ivory Broaches, 2000", 2000
"Fine Art at Four Seasons Toronto", by Elaine Glusac, Four Seasons Magazine - On Line Version, June 2012
"True North", by Elaine Glusac, Four Seasons Magazine, Issue 2, p. 166, June 2013
Ice Floe II, Cover art ("Self Portrait, 2009"), Edited by Shannon Gramse and Sarah Kirk, University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, Alaska, 2011
"Artist Workspaces: Shane Wilson's Studio", Branch Magazine: Private Parts, Issue 6, July 2011
Algonquin Art Centre Blog and Newsletter: "Interview with Shane Wilson", Algonquin Art Centre, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, June 2011
"Artist Feature: Shane Wilson", International Year of Forests: An Artist's Perspective, Gallery Program 2011, Algonquin Art Centre, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Summer 2011
"Feature Artist: Shane Wilson", Branch Magazine: Wild, Issue 5, April 2011
Series Summer School of the Arts Course Catalogue Red Deer College (Detail of 'Male Seahorse' used on the cover and header graphics), Red Deer, Alberta, 2011
"Wildfowl Art of a Different Nature", by Jim Clark (Jim details his learning experiences with master carvers Floyd Scholz and Shane Wilson), Wildfowl Art: The Journal of the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Summer Issue, p. 22, 2010
"Collaborations" ("The Shooting of Dan McGrew", with Dwayne Cull and Robert Service), Branch Magazine: Home, Issue 2.2, August 2010
"Shane Wilson: Honouring the Power of Wild Life", by Todd Wilkinson, Wildlife Art Journal, Spring, 2010
"Shane Wilson: Honouring the Power of Wild Life", by Todd Wilkinson, Trophy Rooms from Around the World, Vol. 15, p. 158-167, 2010
Antlers: A Guide to Collecting, Scoring, Mounting, and Carving, by Dennis Walrod ("Celtic Confusion, 1998" pic and artist bio, page 158), 2005
A Celebration of Swans: Poster and Events Pamphlet, Environment Yukon, Wildlife Viewing Program, Yukon, Canada: "Swans" was chosen as the winner of the 2005 Celebration of Swans Poster Competition, 2005
Illuseum Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: "Yukon Seasons" used as central image on poster and invitation for show, "Hunters and Collectors", 2004
Ice-Floe: International Poetry of the Far North, Cover art for Summer 2002 ("Duality, 1997") and Winter 2002 ("Candle Ice, 1999") Issues, 2002
Up From the Permafrost - 2002 Calendar, Yukon Learn: "Literacy, 2000" used as pic for December, 2002
Up From the Permafrost - Coffee Table Book, Yukon Learn: '"Literacy, 2000", 2000
On Yukon Time: "Faro Fannin, 2001" image, "Campbell Region" section, 2002
Sculpture Forum Magazine: "Duality", used in their advertising brochure, 1998
Work also appears in numerous Yukon Government and Tourism related publications, 1999–2008
Creative Antler Carving: Red Deer College - Series: Summer School of the Visual Arts, Red Deer, Alberta, 2008
Introduction to Antler Carving]: Red Deer College - Series: Summer School of the Visual Arts, Red Deer, Alberta, 2004
Introduction to Antler Carving]: Yukon College: Alice Frost Campus, Old Crow, Yukon, 2003
