From Mystery Comes Image
As an artist and as a person, I have been impressed since childhood with the process that takes us from the inner image to the external reality of an image. For me it has been an endless source of delight and wonderment that awareness, thoughts and recognition can come seemingly unbidden from an inner source that, in adulthood, I learned to call the unconscious. I know now, as an adult, that everyone of us is a fusion of the eternal, of ancestral wisdom or caution and a seer of the future – but some part of us always remains capable of responding to the here and now with originality. Every one of us is an inexhaustible source of wonderment, mystery and problem-solving potential. Somehow, each day, some part of all those throughout our bloodlines, who have walked before us, walk with us now. Yet there is always the aspect of unexpected newness.
Every artist, either wittingly or unwittingly, must draw on this eternal source which is both practical and mystical.
When I look at my completed paintings, I have elements of satisfaction of authorship and at the same time, the sense of mystery that accompanies the essence and the reality of the creative process. In that sense I am both humble and unknowing in the outcome; I am as much a viewer with fresh eyes as you might be upon first viewing any of these works. I hope within them you will find some element or theme that will speak to your own universality and as well, something that speaks to your own uniqueness.
DAPHNE ODJIG C.M., R.C.A.
Daphne Odjig is one of the most respected and uniquely individualistic New Woodland artists working in Canada today. Born in 1919 on the Wikwemikong Reserve on Manitoulin Island, she is a member of the Ojibwa tribe.
Odjig has developed a distinct style based on the beautifully abstracted human form. The visual motif central to her work is the circle, which to the Ojibwa signifies completion and perfection and is symbolic to women. This motif is characterized by undulating, rhythmic lines, often heavily outlined, enclosing local colour in soft harmonious shades. Her subject matter deals with human relationships in the context of Native culture, the importance of grandparents, the function of the family unit, and the universal theme of mother and child. Today the continuing tradition of the Woodlandists seems to be assured in contemporary Canadian art.
Odjig has received numerous accolades for her art. These include an appointment to the Order of Canada, an election to the Royal Canadian Academy of Art, Honourary Doctor degrees from the University of Toronto, Laurentian University and Nipissing University of North Bay, and most recently, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award.
Since 1964, Daphne Odjig has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions in Canada and abroad. Her works have been collected by many public and private collectors including the Canadian Museum of Civilization, McMichael Canadian Collection, the Department of Indian Affairs, and the Canada Council Art Bank.
Exhibitions
SOLO
1967 Lakehead Art Centre, Port Arthur, Ontario
1968 Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba
1969 Viscount Gort Motor Hotel, Winnipeg,
Manitoba
1970 International Peace Garden, Manitoba/North Dakota
1971 Smorta Folklore Festival, Yugoslavia
1974 Warehouse Gallery of Native Art, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1976 Jerusalem Series, Bashford & Schwarz Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
1977 Wah-sa Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1977 Images for a Canadian Heritage, Vancouver, B.C.
1977 Lefebre Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
1979 Pollock Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1979 Time Passages, Gallery West, Vancouver, B.C.
1980 Children of the Raven Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.
1980 Parallels with Nature, Assiniboia Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
1980 Behind the Mask, Robertson Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
1981 Childhood Memories, Children of the Raven Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.
1981 The Shayne Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
1982 Robertson Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
1982 Assiniboia Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
1982 Gold Design Fine Arts, Calgary, Alberta
1983 The Shayne Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
1984 Gallery Phillip. Toronto, Ontario
1985 Robertson Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
1985 The Shayne Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
1985 Daphne Odjig, A Retrospective 1946 -1985, organized and circulated by the Thunder Bay National Exhibition Centre & Centre for Indian Art. Also exhibited at the McMichael Canadian Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario; the Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario; and Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario
1986 Gallery Phillip, Toronto, Ontario
1988 The Shayne Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
1989 Robertson Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
1989 Gallery Phillip. Toronto, Ontario
1990 Hambleton Galleries, Kelowna, B.C.
1990 The Shayne Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
1991 Hambleton Galleries, Kelowna, B.C.
1992 Book launch for A Paintbrush in My Hand, Arts and Letters Club, Toronto, Ontario
1992 Book signing and exhibition, The Shayne Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
1992 Book signing and exhibition, Assiniboia Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
1993 Book signing and exhibition Bearclaw Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
1993 Wallace Galleries Ltd. Calgary, Alberta
1995 Hambleton Galleries, Kelowna, B.C.
1995 Gallery Phillip, Toronto, Ontario
1996 Gallery Gevik, Toronto, Ontario
1997 Bearclaw Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
1998 Daphne Odjig, A Retrospective 1960 -1998, an exhibition of mixed media works on paper and canvas, Gallery Gevik, 12 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
1998 Retrospective, Hampton Gallery, Kamloops, B.C.
GROUP
1964 Wikwemikong Manitoulin Island National Indian Council, 110 paintings purchased from various artists by Indian Affairs.
1970 Minot State University, North Dakota
1970 Canadian Guild of Crafts, Montreal, Quebec
1970 Canadian Pavilion, Expo ’70, Osaka, Japan
1970 L’Agnece de co-operation culturelle et technique, Canada, France, Belgium
1972 Treaty Numbers 23, 287, 1171,Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1973 Nee Chee , T. EatonCo. Winnipeg, Manitoba
1973 Gallery Anthropos, London, England
1974 Janet Ian Cameron Gallery, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1974 The New Warehouse Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1974 Oakville Centennial Gallery, Oakville, Ontario
1974 Canadian Indian Art ’74, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. Ontario
1975 Winnipeg Inn, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1975 Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1975 Native Arts Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
1975 Dominion Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
1975 Wallack Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
1975 Art Emporium, Vancouver, B.C.
1975 Indian Art ’75 , Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario
1976 Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario
1976 From Women’s Eyes: Women Painters in Canada, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
1976 Etobicoke Civic Centre, Etobicoke, Ontario
1976 Janet Ian Cameron Gallery, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1976 Indian Art ’76, Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario
1976 Contemporary Native Art of Canada – The Woodland Indians. Royal Ontario Museum, for travel to Canada House Art Gallery, London, England, and Aula Luisen Schule, Lahr, West Germany
1977 Links to a Tradition, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, for travel to centres in Brazil
1977 Contemporary Indian Arts: The Trail from the Past to the Future, Mackenzie Gallery, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario
1977 Modern Native Canadian Art, Hart House Art Gallery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
1977 Kinsmen Centre, Calgary, Alberta
1978 One Hundred Years of Native American Painting, Oklahoma Museum of Art, Oklahoma
1978 Eagledown Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
1979 Glenhyrst Gallery, Brantford, Ontario
1981 Traditions & Change (touring exhibition), Sub Theatre, Edmonton Centre, Edmonton, Alberta
1981 Rothman’s Gallery, Sudbury, Ontario
1982 Renewal: Masterworks of Contemporary Indian Art from the National Museum of Man, Ottawa, Ontario, organized by the Thunder By National Exhibition Centre and Centre for Indian Art
1982 The Indian Individualist Show, joint project of Assiniboia Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan; the World Assembly of First Nations; and Saskatchewan Indian Federated College
1982 Wandering Spirits: Contemporary Native Artists and Their Art , Windsong Galleries, Mississauga, Ontario
1983 Contemporary Indian & Inuit Art of Canada, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, for the United Nations Building, New York
1983 Contemporary Indian Art at Rideau Hall, Department of Indian Affairs & Northern Development, Ottawa, Ontario
1983 Touring: Organization of American States: Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; The Hall of State, Fair Park, Dallas, Texas; The Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, California
1984 The Image Makers, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
1984 The Best of Our Collections, in the Spirit of Sharing, Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario
1985 Two Worlds, Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
1985 Indian & Eskimo Art Canada, Holland Festival, Amsterdam; sponsored by the National Museum of Man. Ottawa, Ontario
1985 Meervaart Cultural Centre, Holland Festival, Amsterdam, Holland
1986 Keepers of our Culture, Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario
1986 Ontario North Now, Artists of Northeastern Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
1986 New Beginnings, Native Business Summit, Toronto, Ontario
1986 Ascending Culture, Les Terrasses de la Chaudiere, Hull, Quebec
1987 The Los Angeles Celebration of Canadian Contemporary Native Art, Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, California
1987 Manitouilin Island – The Third Layer, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario
1988 Contemporary Indian Art, Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1989 Woodlands: Contemporary Art of the Anishianbe, Thunder Bay Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario
1992-93 Canada’s First People, A Celebration of Contemporary Native Visual Arts, touring Canada and Tokyo, Japan. Sponsored by Syncrude Canada Ltd.
1995 Voices of Vision – Resurgence,
En-owkin Centre & Art Gallery of the South Okanagan, Penticton, B.C.
Artist: Daphne Odjig (Prints)
Medium: Silkscreen, 1975
Size: 44 x 31 Inches (Image Size)
Code No.: DOP80
Price: $3,250.00 Framed
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