2016 CEREMONIAL/ART presents Chief Henry Speck

Paintings from Alert Bay, 1958-60

PRESS RELEASE

Ceremonial/Art is thrilled to present it’s second solo exhibition of gouache on paper works by Chief U’dziztalis (Henry Speck) from the late 1950s and early 1960s.

When Chief U’dziztalis (Henry Speck) made paintings, he broke many of the design rules of Northwest Coast art for the first time, influencing many generations of artists to come. When he drew hair onto the surface, he went over the form line, making a stylized two-dimensional image into a pictorially three-dimensional one.

Chief U’dziztalis (Henry Speck’s) paintings went outside his cultural practices, not only in that they had no ceremonial function, but as he broke away from the strict design code used by artists in the North West Coast tradition. When he drew hair onto the surface, he went over the form line, making a stylized two-dimensional image into a pictorially three-dimensional one. This aspect of pushing the boundaries and incorporating unconventional use of colour, naturalistic rendering of texture was considered taboo within his culture.

His untrained, idiosyncratic practice was estranged from his own culture and was alien to the prevailing dominant culture. However, his modernist aesthetics and abstracted Kwakwaka’wakw cosmology infused in his work influenced many generations of artists to come.

Installation view of Chief Henry Speck at Macaulay & Co. Fine Art

Installation View,

2016,

Chief Henry Speck The Caller of the Wids

GROUSE – THE CALLER OF THE WIDS, STUMP,

1958,

20 X 22 INCHES FRAMED,

GOUACHE ON PAPER

FRONTLET FROM ALERT BAY,

Artist Unknown, C. 1930,

9 X 6.5 X 4 INCHES

Seagull,

1959,

20 X 22 INCHES FRAMED,

GOUACHE ON PAPER

painting by Chief Henry Speck

SNOW GEESE, NA-NA-LA,

1959,

20 X 22 INCHES FRAMED,

GOUACHE ON PAPER

FRONTLET FROM ALERT BAY,

Artist Unknown, C. 1930,

9 X 6.5 X 4 INCHES,

WREN DANCE MASK, SEA MAN, SEAGULL,

1959,

20 X 22 INCHES FRAMED,

GOUACHE ON PAPER

painting by Chief Henry Speck

GRIZZLY BEAR, LOON, SEAGULL FEAST DISH,

1959,

20 X 22 INCHES FRAMED,

GOUACHE ON PAPER

FRONTLET FROM ALERT BAY,

Artist Unknown, C. 1930,

9 X 6.5 X 4 INCHES,