About John Greer

John Greer taught sculpture for 26 years as full Professor at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In this position his thinking and teaching has shaped and influenced contemporary sculpture and three-dimensional art practice in Canada.
Since 1967, Greer has been included in some 70 group and 50 solo exhibitions in such cities as Seoul, Montreal, Calgary, Toronto, Washington, Madrid, and Halifax. His work is held in public collections across Canada, including in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Winnipeg, Art Gallery of
Ontario, Mackenzie Gallery, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Dalhousie University Art Gallery, St. Mary’s University Art Gallery, and Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, among others.
In 2009, Greer was the recipient of the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts, recognizing his distinguished career achievements in the visual arts.
As part of his ongoing art practice, John Greer has been realizing thoughtful large-scale work for public and private commissions. Most recently he finished "Feather, 2025" to replace a stolen sculpture with the same title. A newly modeled sculpture, this unique cast will be installed in the spring of 2025 at the University of Guelph in their sculpture park, next to a few other sculptures realizes by John Greer. 

“Awaken” was unveiled in October 2024 at the Halifax harbourfront. It was commissioned by Southwest properties for their newly finished Cunard Project building complex. It overlooks the mouth of the harbour and is publicly accessible on the waterfront in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. “Sirens Echo” was commissioned for a private sculpture park in Virginia, USA, “Sirens’ Calling” for the Queen’s Marque in Halifax, NS; “Standing Together” is a memorial to Canadian Building Trades Unions in Ottawa, ON, Canada, “The Rule of Law…” is part of the McMurtry Gardens of Justice in downtown Toronto, “Gathering” is adjacent to the National Museum in Yongsang Family Park in Seoul, Korea, “Reflection” is the Memorial to Canadian Aid workers in Ottawa, ON, and “Origins” is in the Ondaatje Courtyard in Halifax, NS. “The Sirens” and “Cradle” were installed in a private collection in Switzerland and “Humble Ending” is a poetic work permanently installed in La Serpara, a private sculpture garden South of Rome.
For Greer, sculpture is an idea manifested in material. His sculptural objective, as it has been previously described, has always been about articulating ideas about our place in the world – about where and how we, as humans, ground ourselves. Greer says, “Art is a voice in the world, not an utterance, but a constructed thought.” That is, sculpture is not an idea de-materialized, but rather re-materialized, an idea made flesh, as it were. 

Greer’s work remains rooted in a specific kind of conceptualism, one that strives to make language, image, and idea physically manifest.
Greer currently lives and works in both Nova Scotia and Pietrasanta, Italy.