Early Works II
Alan Hunt, Cole Speck, and Aubrey Johnston Jr.
May 17 - June 14, 2019
Tanúyap Project Space, Fazakas Gallery, Vancouver, BC
"Not only are you trying to create these higher-quality pieces, but you have to remember where they come from and understand the stories that go along with all of it, and so it is a pretty big responsibility, I would think, in helping maintain this constant passing-on of knowledge."
- Cole Speck, Kwakwaka'wakw artist
This exhibition featuring Alan Hunt and Cole Speck, with help from Aubrey Johnson Jr., thematically builds off our previous show, Beau Dick: Early Works. For the world of Kwakwaka'wakw carving, the apprentice system remains the primary way that young artists are trained. Older and more experienced carvers take on young apprentices to help them with on totem poles and large projects. The relationship flows both ways: as the young carvers help masters they learn the skills and knowledge they will need to become masters themselves.
Beau Dick took on many young apprentices during his career teaching, taught them his techniques and values, and helped in developing their own styles. With Early Works featuring current pieces by his former apprentices, the exhibition offers an exciting look at three new carvers with styles and ideas of their own.
