Phil Gray: New Print
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Lattimer Gallery 1590 W 2nd Ave, Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 1H2
New Phil Gray Print
While Ts'msyen/Cree artist Phil Gray is celebrated as a woodcarver, he has released several prints over the course of his career. These have always been extremely popular and have sold out quickly. Most silkscreen prints in the Northwest Coast art market are produced in limited editions of 200-300. This new print, titled Formless, is from a small edition of 75 and it measures 22" x 22".
From his animated Killerwhale serigraph in 2008 to his black-and-white Mosquito print in 2009, Phil's two-dimensional prints are based around traditional Ts'msyen formline yet reflect his penchant for intricacy and clean design.
Phil states about this new work: "This print depicts Raven in a 'formless' state while in the process of transforming".
The print is composed of quintessential Northwest Coast Indigenous forms - such as the ovoid and split-u and trigon - yet the figure depicted is essentially non-figurative. It has a timeless quality due to this abstraction, yet is also undeniably modern in appearance.
Phil began carving in 1998 with Salish artist Gerry Sheena. He also had the opportunity to work with David Boxley, Henry Green, and Rick Adkins early in his career. Phil primarily works in red cedar and creates masks, paintings, panels, poles, sculptures, and drums. Phil was included in two major exhibitions in 2009. The first was the Challenging Traditions exhibition at Ontario's McMichael Gallery, a show that was dedicated to exploring innovative and experimental works from the Northwest Coast. The second was Continuum: Vision and Creativity on the Northwest Coast at Vancouver's Bill Reid Gallery, which highlighted 23 established Aboriginal artists from BC, Washington State, and Alaska. In February of 2010, Phil designed the helmet of gold medal-winning Skeleton racer Jon Montgomery. In 2012, Phil was included in the Vancouver Art Gallery's Shore, Forest, and Beyond exhibition. In 2014, Phil was awarded a BC Creative Achievement Award for his contributions to the province. In 2017, Phil won two major prizes: a YVR Art Foundation Mid-Career Scholarship and a REVEAL Indigenous Art Award, which was issued in celebration of Canada's 150th birthday.