Guud Sans Glans Robert Davidson: A Line That Bends But Does Not Break

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Robert Davidson, "T-Silli-AA-Lis, Raven Finned Killer Whale," 1983

screenprint on paper, Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David Young

Guud sans glans Robert Davidson: A Line That Bends But Does Not Break draws on the Vancouver Art Gallery’s extensive collection of Davidson’s graphic work, supplemented by paintings from local private collections, to show how Davidson’s profound knowledge of Haida art has allowed him to innovate so convincingly.

Traditional Haida art is well known for stylistic conventions that provide a complex and distinctive visual structure to everything it represents. Davidson is so at home within that tradition that he can move effortlessly from more familiar compositions to works in which he singles out and boldly abstracts traditional elements of shape, colour and line. This allows us to consider these elements with exquisite care and see them in new ways. Each work can be considered a masterclass in the Haida language of forms and powerful evidence of the richness, resilience and vitality of Haida culture.