Matthew Provost Naatsikapamatoosin (Two Smudge): Re-counting Coup: Fazakas Gallery, Vancouver BC

Opening reception

Thursday May 14, 6 - 8 pm

659 East Hastings Street

Fazakas Gallery is pleased to present Re-counting Coup, the first solo exhibition in British Columbia by Matthew Provost Naatsikapamatoosin (Two Smudge), an artist from the Piikani and Kainai Nations (Southern Alberta), part of the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy). Two Smudge’s practice explores how Siksikaitsitapi knowledge systems persist and adapt within contemporary contexts. Working across painting, material interventions, installation, and hanging mobile sculpture, he engages histories of mark-making, land, and value to consider how cultural knowledge is carried forward.

The exhibition’s title draws on the Blackfoot practice of counting coup, a Plains Indigenous tradition in which warriors demonstrated bravery through close physical proximity to an opponent—touching rather than killing. Emphasizing risk, precision, and restraint, the act held deep social and cultural significance.

Re-counting Coup considers what it means to act with courage today. Here, bravery is expressed through continuation—through the sustained act of making, learning, and transmitting knowledge. The work affirms that Siksikaitsitapi ways of knowing are not static, but continuously evolving and carried forward.

Download Exhibition Text