Chief Beau Dick
Walas Gwa’yam
Kwakwaka’wakw
Visit Website
Some of the artists in this exhibition are no longer with us. A special thank you to those individuals who have loaned us these artists’ artwork from their private collections. We appreciate your generosity in allowing them to be part of Hitlisita’um "the copper will be fixed" exhibition.
Artist Bio
Supernatural Raven
Chief Beau Dick, acclaimed as one of the Northwest Coast’s most versatile and talented carvers, was born in Alert Bay, BC, where he lived and worked. He began carving at an early age, studying under his father Benjamin Dick, his grandfather James Dick, and later renowned artists such as Henry Hunt and Doug Cranmer. Beau also worked alongside master carvers Robert Davidson, and the late Tony Hunt and Bill Reid. As an artist, he took much of his inspiration and technique from traditional Kwakwaka’wakw art. Beau’s art has gained steady recognition and acclaim in both Canada and the international art scene. From 2013 to his passing in 2017, he was Artist-in-Residence at the UBC Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory.
For more than three decades, he actively perpetuated the ceremonial traditions of his people. “My style is sometimes referred to as “Potlatch Style” as it comes from a tradition of ceremony which requires many masks to be made in a short period of time. It takes many years of practice and an understanding of balance in order to create a work that is appears finished in a natural and instinctive manner, without seeming overthought.” –Beau Dick