Shilling, Arthur

Arthur Shilling was born April 19, 1941, in the Rama First Nation near Orillia, Ontario. He studied at the New School of Art and the Ontario College of Art in Toronto; but is mostly self-taught. Shilling was fiercely independent and resisted attempts to classify him. He melded the influences of European masters into a unique expression of a deeply personal worldview that explores the Native experience in the life around him, particularly in the faces of his subjects.

His style is expressionist characterized by distinctive bold strokes of color. His medium is primarily oil on masonite or canvas, however he has also worked in pastel, watercolor and pencil.  Shilling’s subjects are portraits and landscapes. 

He started showing his work at the Orilla Public Library in 1963 and had his first solo show in Ottawa, Ontario in 1967. Subsequently his work has been shown in over two dozen major group and solo exhibitions as well as many commercial galleries including some of the most important in Canada. 

Self-Portrait
by
Shilling, Arthur



Education
Self-taught
New School of Art
Ontario College of Art, Toronto

Collections
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
McMichael Canadian Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
Dofasco Inc., Hamilton, Ontario
Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec
NOVA Corporation
Canadian Embassy, Washington, D.C., USA
DuPont Canada Inc., Toronto
Rideau Hall, Ottawa
St Michael's Hospital, Toronto
Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, Ottawa
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario
Imperial Oil, Toronto
Manulife Financial, Toronto

Solo Exhibitions
2003, 1999  Beckett Fine Art Ltd., Toronto, Ontario
1990 Columbus Centre, Toronto
1997,94,92,90   Roberts Gallery, Toronto
1986 Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario
1986,83,81,80,79  Beckett Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
1981,80  Sundance Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
1978 Nancy Poole's Studio, Toronto
1970 McIntosh Gallery, London, Ontario
1967 Tom Thomson Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario
1966 Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario
1963,63,67  Orillia Public Library, Orillia, Ontario

Work Cited

http://www.lochgallery.com/component/option,com_art/action,artist/id,104/Itemid,30/

http://www.beckettfineart.com/dynamic/category_artist.asp?ArtistID=6&CategoryID=First%20Nations%20Art

http://www.askart.com/askart/s/arthur_shilling/arthur_shilling.aspx

Thomas, Roy

Roy Thomas is an Anishinaabe artist who resided in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Without any formal training, Thomas cited the spirit of Anishinaabe elders and art as his teachers.

In the 1980s, art critics linked him with "the younger generation" of Woodland artists after Norval Morriseau and Daphne Odjig in a period bridged by Carl Ray. His strength lay in his design ability and his bold use of line and color. While his work has been classified as a Woodland style of art of bold colourations framed by black form lines, the focus of his pieces have always stressed content over style. He painted his experiences of the traditional cultural stories told to him by his grandparents. Thomas believed that his grandmother's spirit was present with him while he painted, and honoured her by signing his works with a small crow, the name she had given him.

He had numerous one-man exhibitions and participated in several group shows around the world. His work is represented in major Aboriginal Art Collections across Canada and in the US, Europe and Japan.

"Orange Bird, Big and Little"
by
Thomas, Roy

Education

Primarily Self-Taught

Exhibitions

Pollock Gallery (solo shows) 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980
The Image Makers, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1984
Thunder Bay Art Gallery (solo shows) 1983, 1989, 1991
Maslak McLeod Gallery, 1994
Royal Ontario Museum, 1996

Collections

National Gallery of Canada
Art Gallery of Ontario
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa
McMichael Canadian Collection, Kleinburg
Other major collections across Canada, the US, Europe and Japan.

Work Cited

http://www.maslakmcleod.com/painting/Roy-Thomas.html

http://www.native-art-in-canada.com/roy_thomas.html

http://www.bearclawgallery.com/Paintings.aspx?ArtistID=20

http://www.ahnisnabae-art.com/roy-thomas.html

Wison, Lyle

Lyle Wilson is a Haisla artist from Kitamaat Village, British Columbia, Canada. The Haisla tribe is often referred to as Northern Kwakiutl. Haisla historic artistic style merges distinctive qualities of their own influences with influences from other sources like Kwakiutl and Tsimshian.

The Haisla Clan system is matrilineal and, although he was born into the Beaver Clan, Lyle was formally adopted into his father's Eagle Clan to help ensure the continuation of the Eagle Clan during a period of high death rates. This was a small but important event, which helped, shape Wilson's view of Haisla culture and his subsequent artistic engagement with it.

Wilson was always interested and passionate of Haisla art. Sam Robinson, his uncle and a celebrated carver, was one of Wilson’s earliest influences. Under Robinson’s direction, he began to informally study the form and practice of carving. After attending the University of British Columbia he began a career in art education that would eventually give way to a full time course of study at Emily Carr College of Art and Design.

Wilson graduated with a diploma in printmaking.  This artistic style has its roots in graphics, but also envelops his three-dimensional works in wood and jewelry. His work replicates and infuses historic Haisla art with his personal style to create pieces to aid future generations in understanding and visualizing Haila art.

Wilson has been involved with many important private and public commissions and group and solo exhibitions since 1981, both locally and abroad. He has acted as the Artist in Residence at the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology and while he continues to work closely with this institution, Wilson prefers working by himself, believing that the individual personality shows itself in the finished work --- thus he is reluctant to involve others in his artistic projects unless absolutely necessary. Even his larger carvings remain mostly his own efforts.



The Eagle and Shadows
by
Wilson, Lyle

Education

 

1987: 5th year, Secondary Art Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.

 

1988 Graduated in Print-making, Emily Carr College of Art and Design, Vancouver, BC.

 

1976 - 1979: Native Indian Teacher Education Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.

Commissions & Projects

1995: "Haisla House-Post"

~ 6 ft. Red Cedar replicated carving of old artifact at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC ---- artist donated the carving to the Haisla Community School, Kitamaat Village, BC.

1992: "Eulachon: A Fish to Cure Humanity"

~ Co-curated this catalogued exhibition documenting the historical and contemporary usage of the eulachon fish; opened at the UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC

1988: "Image Recovery Project"

~Using an infra-red camera, historical images were photographed, archived and replicated; this is the intesive documentation of painted images of historical work undertaken to this date.

1987: "Northwest Coast Traditional Longhouse Project"

~Assistant Co-ordinator/Liason for the planning, building of 6 different Northwest Coast Longhouses at the UBC Museum of Anthropology; the longhouses were installed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Quebec

Selected Group & Solo Exhibitions

2009: Challenging Traditions : Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast.

McMichael Museum of Canadian Art, Ontario

2009: North Star : The Art of Lyle Wilson Solo Show, West Vancouver Musuem, West Vancouver, BC

2004: Totems to Turquoise American Museum of Natural History, New York

2003: Northwest Coast Collections Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

2001: Raven Stories Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

2001: Northwest Innovations: Transforming Traditions Evergreen Cultural Centre Art Gallery, Coquitlam, BC

  

2000: Time & Tide Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1999: Arrows of the Spirit Mengei International Museum, San Deigo, California

1999: Prints on the Horizon Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1998: Transitions Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1997: Enduring Vision Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1997: Redefining Tradition: A Selection of First Nations Artist and Their Work Whatcom Museum, Washington 

1997 & 1996: Jewelry of the Northwest Coast Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1992: Seattle International Art Fair Los Angeles, California

1990: Painted Drums of the Northwest Coast Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC 

1989 - 1991: When Worlds Collide, National Travelling Solo Show  

1989: Masks: An Exhibition of Northwest Coast Native Masks Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1989: First Nations Art of the Oceans Exhibit at the Canada - Japan Bilatreal Symposium, Vancouver, BC

1989: Beyond the Revival: Contemporary Northwest Native Art Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1988: The Transforming Image: Painted Arts of the Northwest Coast Museum of Anthropology at UBC, Vancouver, BC

1986: What Is Native American Art? Vancouver, BC 

1986: International Works on Paper London Ontario Regional Art Gallery, Ontario

1981: Native American Arts '81 Philbrook Art Centre, Tulsa

1980: Northwest Renaissance Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, BC

Work Cited

http://www.spiritwrestler.com/catalog/index.php?artists_id=223

http://www.haisla.ca/community/artist/wilson

http://www.stoningtongallery.com/artistselect.php?fn=Lyle&ln=Wilson&artist=93&artType=0&topic=bio

http://www.coastalpeoples.com/index.php?mpage=artist&aid=116