Steve Smith – Dla’kwagila (1968)

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:

In the tradition of mentorship and the handing down of knowledge from parent to child,

Steve Smith was originally taught by his father in the Kwakwaka'wakw style of painting.

Today, these origins remain the foundation beneath bold experiments in form and colour.

Intuitively and seamlessly, Smith interprets tradition through the changes and challenges of

personal history. He credits a recent heart attack and a triple bypass surgery for altering his

palette from the red, green and blacks of Kwakwaka'wakw art to a polyphony of colour. He

writes that, after the surgery: ‘I found myself in the paint aisle and I was filling a basket with

every colour imaginable, and yet I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with them.

As I sat down to paint a piece, the colours seemed to jump into my hands and found their

way onto the painting.... I truly believe creation comes from the heart and when my heart

flowed freely, the artwork finally had it’s chance to do the same.’

Smith's work has been featured at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the Burke

Museum, Seattle; and Ontario's McMichael Gallery. Public works include the City of

Vancouver's 'Spirit Bears in the City' project and two major installations for the Vancouver

International Airport.

CV

EDUCATION

1989 -1995 – Apprenticed with Harris Smith - Lalkawilas

EXHIBITIONS | SELECTED

2014 – Gratitude, Steinbrueck Gallery, Seattle, WA

2013 – Collaboration and Contrast, Lattimer Gallery, Vancouver, BC

2011 – State of Flux, Lattimer Gallery, Vancouver, BC

2007 – Coastal Legacy, Coastal Peoples Gallery, Vancouver, BC Migrations: Birds of the Pacific, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC In the Spirits of Our Ancestors, The Burke Museum, Seattle, WA

2005 – Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY

1995 – Steve Smith, Kwagiulth Museum and Cultural Centre, Quadra Island, BC  

1994 – Steve Smith, Kwagiulth Museum and Cultural Centre, Quadra Island, BC

 

DEMONSTRATIONS | SELECTED

  2006  – Painting of Vessels and Bent Boxes, Vancouver Radiology Convention, Vancouver, BC

2003 –  Wood Carving and Painting of Sculptures, Douglas Reynolds Gallery, Vancouver, BC

2002 – Wood Carving and Painting of 10-foot Red Cedar Totem Pole, Lattimer Gallery, Vancouver, BC Wood Carving and Painting of Sculptures, Gifts of the Raven, YVR, Richmond, BC

2001 – Wood Carving and Painting of Sculptures, Gifts of the Raven, YVR, Richmond BC

1995 – Wood Carving and Painting of Sculptures and Model Poles, Kwagiulth Museum and Cultural Centre, Quadra Island, BC

1994 – Wood Carving and Painting of Sculptures and Model Poles, Kwagiulth Museum and Cultural Centre, Quadra Island, BC

 

PUBLIC WORKS

2006 – Chilkat Spirit Bear (with Sabina Hill), Spirit Bears in the City, Vancouver, BC West Coast Bear, Spirit Bears in the City, Vancouver, BC

2009 – Sea to Sky Installation, YVR Pier C, Richmond, BC Freedom to Move Installation, YVR Pier C, Richmond, BC

2010 – Friendship Installation, Douglas College, New Westminster, BC

PUBLICATIONS & PRESS

2009 – Challenging Traditions, Ian M. Thom.

2006 – Rushing III, W. Jackson. Of This Continent, Indian Art Magazine, Winter, Vol. 32, No. 1.

2005 – McFadden, David and Ellen Taubman. Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2.

WORKS | SELECTED

Harmony Russian birch

33W x 10D inches 2016.

Rainbow Trout Acrylic on Basswood and Russian Birch

24 x 36 inches 2016.

Painted Elk Hide Drum for Vancouver Airport Acrylic on elk hide

41 x 41 inches 2011.

Painted Elk Hide Drum for Vancouver Airport Acrylic on elk hide

41 x 41 inches 2011.