Writers Yann Martel and Alice Kuipers donate Clint Neufeld sculpture to Remai Modern

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Clint Neufeld, "Screaming Jimmy, the first time we met in that field I knew you were the one," 2016

a ceramic engine on a metal hoist, 72" x 72" x 84" including the hoist

Remai Modern has announced that celebrated Saskatoon authors Yann Martel and Alice Kuipers have donated to the museum a major sculpture by Saskatoon-area artist Clint Neufeld.

“Donors like Yann Martel and Alice Kuipers are so important for the development of our permanent collection, which we hold in trust on behalf of the people of Saskatoon,” said Gregory Burke, Remai Modern Executive Director & CEO. “Clint Neufeld is a nationally acclaimed artist based near Saskatoon, and the donation is a major new, museum-quality sculpture — the artist’s largest work to date.”

“Screaming Jimmy is a terrific addition to our collection.”

For the past decade, Neufeld, who lives near Osler, SK, has been transforming engines from steel into delicate ceramic objects, challenging notions of masculine and feminine as well as utility and art. This work, honouring a whining, 1978 super-charged Detroit diesel engine, is glazed in gentle shades of pink and green.

“Alice and I are happy to donate this work,” said Yann Martel, “because we want Remai Modern to be as great a gallery as it can be. “I love Clint’s work: it’s beautiful, startling, endlessly stimulating,” he said. “This is a gift for everyone. It’s a big, impressive piece and it will look fantastic in the gallery.”

Having a world-class gallery will make Saskatoon “even more attractive,” he said. “I passionately believe in art galleries. It really fills my lungs with air to see beautiful art.”

Of the link between doing well and doing good, Martel said, “I consider myself lucky.” Since his novel Life of Pi was a global best-seller and inspired an Academy Award-winning film, “the least I can do is give back to good causes.”

About Yann Martel

Yann Martel was born in Spain to Canadian parents. After living in many countries, 

he chose Saskatoon to settle and raise his family. He was introduced to the community when he arrived in 2003 to be the Saskatoon Public Library’s writer-in-residence. Since 1993, he has published seven books. His best-seller, Life of Pi, was awarded the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. His most recent work is the novel, The High Mountains of Portugal. He and his partner, writer Alice Kuipers, have four children.

About Alice Kuipers

Alice Kuipers is the award-winning author of four Young Adult novels and two picture books, with an upcoming chapter book series. Like Yann, she was writer-in-residence 

at the Saskatoon Public Library. Her next YA novel, Me and Me, comes out in April 2017.

About Clint Neufeld

Born and raised in small-town Saskatchewan, Clint Neufeld served with the Canadian military before pursuing his art career. He has a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the University of Saskatchewan and an MFA from Concordia University. He has exhibited widely across Canada and was represented in a ground-breaking 2012 survey of Canadian art at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

Source: Remain Modern