Russell Yuristy

Russell Yuristy, RCA, is a Canadian visual artist, sculptor, and educator born in Goodeve, Saskatchewan. He pursued his post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1959. He subsequently moved to the United States to study at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he completed a Master of Science in Fine Arts in 1967.

Following his graduate studies, Yuristy returned to Saskatchewan and joined the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus (now the University of Regina), where he taught visual art from 1967 to 1971. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was a key figure in the development of the Emma Lake Workshops and served as a coordinator for the programs in 1969 and 1970. He also played an instrumental role in organizing the Silton Prairie Art Farm workshops in 1973 and 1974, which fostered collaborative, experimental art production in rural Saskatchewan.

Yuristy’s artistic practice encompasses sculpture, drawing, printmaking, and painting. In the 1970s, he gained national recognition for his large-scale, interactive wooden animal sculptures designed as public play structures for children. His studio work across print and drawing mediums frequently features stylized fauna, eccentric figurative subjects, and anthropomorphic creatures rendered with detailed draftsmanship and whimsical narrative themes.

In 1986, Yuristy relocated to Ottawa, Ontario, where he established a studio practice and taught drawing and printmaking at the Ottawa School of Art. He was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) in recognition of his contributions to Canadian sculpture and graphic arts.

Yuristy's artwork is represented in permanent public and institutional collections across Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Canada Council Art Bank, the MacKenzie Art Gallery, the Remai Modern, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.