Yuri Arajs

Biography

Yuri Arajs was born in Kelowna but grew up in New Jersey, visiting New York City museums at least once a month. “I was brought up with the best of art in my face all the time,” he says. He received a graduate degree in printmaking from the esteemed Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. His art, then and now, often portrays landscapes with a minimalist twist.

He moved to Minneapolis in 1994 and eventually became the gallery director and co-coordinator of visual arts programs at Interact, a non-profit that facilitates the making of high-quality art by disabled people. Yuri created the Outsider Gallery and Placement Gallery in Minneapolis and is a member of the artist group, Pilot.

Yuri decided to move back to Canada in 2008 and he is well on his way to carrying on his high energy career as an artist, gallerist and curator in Victoria.

View Art Gallery is hosting a joint exhibition with Cheryl Taves and Yuri Arajs in May 2011.  Details will be published early in 2011.