About
Bio/Statement
I am continually sketching, using cuttings from watercolor paper or heavyweight stock to explore ideas. These studies, which often stand as finished works in their own right, serve as intuitive maps for larger paintings. I usually begin with a color or a feeling, then build the composition through a series of deliberate moves — gestures in paint that aim to captivate both myself and the viewer.
As an abstract painter, I find non-representational work to be one of the most compelling exercises of thought and perception. Abstraction holds a mirror to the natural world’s ability to evoke awe, inviting viewers into a dialogue that is both deeply personal and profoundly universal. I am fascinated by the meanings viewers bring to a painting — how a single work can contain infinite interpretations. To me, painting is the encapsulation of a moment, a vessel through which the viewer can access not only a specific period in time but a profound connection to another human being through the material presence of the object.
BIO:
Shawn Mankowske is a Canadian abstract painter of First Nations (Southern Tutchone, Tagish Kwan) and Dutch descent, currently living and working in his home community of Whitehorse, Yukon. A proud Kwanlin Dün First Nation citizen, Shawn creates work deeply informed by a sense of place, connection, and the evolving language of abstraction.
Shawn grew up in Whitehorse before moving to Calgary, Alberta, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting (with Distinction) from the Alberta University of the Arts in 2007. Over the years, he has co-founded, operated, and co-directed a number of notable independent arts initiatives in Calgary, including 809 Gallery, Wreck City (Epilogue for 809, Phantom Wing, Demo Tape), and Pith Gallery & Studios — projects that blended creative community-building with large-scale experimental exhibitions.
Today, Shawn works for his people at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre, where he is dedicated to cultural programming, community engagement, and preserving and sharing Southern Tutchone, Tagish Kwan culture. His current artistic practice continues to explore abstraction as a way of capturing memory, perception, and the living relationship between land, story, and spirit.