Exhibition brings together decades of Indigenous art

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This article was published 04/03/2024 (631 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Art that was once stored away out of sight at Brandon University for fear it had been forged is now proudly hanging at a new exhibition of contemporary Indigenous art at the school’s Glen P. Sutherland Gallery of Art.

Including work from Daphne Odjig, Jackson Beardy, Carl Beam and Arthur Amiotte, the exhibit, called “Indigenous Art: Beyond History,” includes the early work of Norval Morrisseau. Morrisseau, who was born in 1931 and died in 2007, has been called the grandfather of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada, the Art Canada Institute’s website says. He created the Woodlands School of Canadian Native Art and was part of the “Indian Group of Seven,” along with Odjig, Beardy, Carl Ray and Joseph Sanchez.

In March of last year, eight people were arrested in an investigation into the sale of fraudulent art pieces that had been sold as works of Morrisseau. The Ontario Provincial Police said at the time that some of the fake pieces were bought for tens of thousands of dollars since 2007.

Dr. Stacey Koosel is an assistant professor of Brandon University’s (BU) IshKaabatens Waasa Gaa Inaabateg Department of Visual Art, and the curator of the new exhibit. For many years, nobody at the university knew whether the two Morriseau pieces — one of which hangs in the president’s office and one in the Indigenous Peoples’ Centre — were authentic or not.

“Norval Morriseau was part of the largest art fraud ring in the world … coming out of Thunder Bay, so a lot of people doubted the authenticity of the works,” she told the Sun.

Koosel decided to research the pieces herself in hopes of finding out the truth. After speaking with different experts in the field, including Colleen Cutschall, a professor emerita at BU, and Indigenous artist Richie Sinclair, she finally got her answer.

“[They] and the other experts have told me these are 100 per cent authentic. These are real, these are exciting. These are early works, so probably from the late ’60s, early ’70s,” she said.

Unfortunately, due to the dubious nature of the artworks’ origins before Koosel worked to authenticate them, they had been stored improperly and not cared for for years. Thankfully, she said, that’s all changed with this exhibit, which opened on Friday evening.

“Rediscovering them and finding out that they’re real is very exciting, and putting them in this exhibition. This is the first time they’ve been exhibited maybe since they were brought to the university,” Koosel said. Now, the art will be preserved and looked after properly for future generations.

Koosel is proud of her art students who are helping to curate the exhibit, which is being led by Felicity Nepinak-Hart as the chief curator of the project. Working together, Nepinak-Hart and Koosel selected, researched and installed the exhibit, which features artwork in the form of paintings, prints, textiles, beading and more.

“The students organize the show, they research the works, they follow the work, so it’s a student curated exhibition,” Koosel said. “It’s led by Indigenous students, because it’s an Indigenous art course. It also features works by Indigenous contemporary art students in university right now.”

The exhibition brings together almost 60 years of Indigenous contemporary art, from 1964 to present day, Koosel said, calling it an important collection that the university is very proud to exhibit. It’s also an accessible way for people who are Indigenous to share their stories about the past and their hopes for the future, and a wonderful way to showcase Indigenous excellence and creativity, she added.

“I think of contemporary art as a form of storytelling. It’s a way of sharing stories, and building community, and also sort of building a vision of a better future for everyone, so that’s the exciting part for me,” Koosel said.

The exhibition will run until March 15, and will be open Monday to Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. In the future, Koosel said she is looking forward to putting an exhibit up featuring the work of Odjig, who the National Gallery of Canada calls one of the nation’s most celebrated Indigenous painters and printmakers.

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