Emily Carr University and Rennie Collection are pleased to present an artist talk by American artist Robert Beck/Robert Buck, on the occasion of his first Canadian exhibition from March 2 to June 8, 2013. A catalogue will accompany the exhibition, with an essay by James Voorhies.In 2008, Robert Beck changed his surname by a single vowel to Buck. This act of artistic self-nomination, a work of art itself, was precipitated by what he had achieved through his work as Beck, which was often autobiographical in content and persistently diverse in form. As an alias, Buck appealed to the artist for its precision and associations: stag, son, cash, to throw off.Robert Buck lives and works in New York City and the deserts of the American Southwest. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Film and Television Program, Buck completed the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program in 1993. His work has been exhibited internationally, including a 2007 solo show at the Wexner Museum of Art in Columbus, OH, and is part of museum collections across the US. He was a 1999 Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award recipient. Buck’s work is represented by CRG Gallery, New York City, and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London.Rennie Collection has evolved over a number of years to focus on works related to identity, social injustice, appropriation, painting and photography. In 2009, renovations were completed on the oldest building in Vancouver's Chinatown to display the collection to the public. Rennie Collection at Wing Sang holds two exhibitions a year with supporting catalogues and events.