In his highly innovative and experimental approach to art-making, Iain Baxter& redefined the role of the artist. He was an early practitioner of conceptualism, and has worked across various media, such as photography, installation, sculpture and painting. Baxter& was also the pioneer of the light box, later used by Vancouver’s photo-based artists. In 1967 Baxter& co-founded the art-making company N.E. Thing Co. with Ingrid Baxter; placing his work in this context was an example of his conceptual view of his art activities. Baxter&’s light box works were showcased at a National Gallery of Canada exhibition in 1969 titled N.E. Thing Co.: Environment, in which Baxter& transformed a gallery space into the company’s corporate headquarters. Just as the internet was just being developed in California, N.E. Thing Co. made use of the telex, which was then the business world’s prototype of the internet.
During the late 1960s Baxter& received international notice – his work was on the cover of Art in America’s May / June 1969 issue, he participated in the seminal Conceptual art survey Information at the Museum of Modern Art (1970), and he exhibited in projects initiated by New York critic Lucy Lippard and Conceptual art dealer Seth Siegelaub.
Baxter& has a master in education, and his teaching career stretched over 40 years - at the Banff School of Fine Arts, Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia, York University, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Alberta College of Art and Design and the University of Windsor.
In 2005, the artist changed his last name from Baxter to Baxter&, treating his name as a brand, and referring in the symbol to connections and collaboration.
Baxter& is a recipient of many awards, and in 2003 was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He has exhibited in galleries and museums world-wide, and in 2012, the Art Gallery of Ontario mounted a major survey exhibition representing Baxter&’s work from 1958 to 2011.