Ivar Mendez was born in Bolivia but has spent most of his life in Canada. He lives in Halifax, where he is a professor of Neurosurgery and Chairman of the Brain Repair Center at Dalhousie University. As a scientist and an artist he believes that science and art are synergistic and promote creativity and innovation. Mendez uses sculpture and photography to capture the spirit of the Canadian Arctic and the Bolivian Andes, his sources of inspiration. Ivar Mendez is above all a humanitarian. He has established school breakfast, dental care and arts programs in remote communities in the Bolivian Andes and computer education programs in Northern Labrador.

TWO WORLDS, ONE SPIRIT

This exhibition merges the worlds of the Canadian Arctic with the Bolivian Andes. Although these worlds are geographically distant, common threads of culture, spirituality and landscape find their way into the artistic expression and creativity of the artist. Employing bronze sculpture and photography, Ivar Mendez brings the spiritual energy of the Canadian Arctic and the Bolivian Andes into visual synergy.

This catalogue was produced for the exhibition Ivar Mendez: Two Worlds, One Spirit presented at the Musée des métiers d'art du Québec, from September 14 to October 16, 2011.

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© Musée des métiers d'art du Québec, 2011

Text : Alexandre Payer and Ron Stewart

ISBN : 978-2-920237-42-1