Carl Beam (1943-2005) was born in M’Chigeeng (West Bay) on Manitoulin Island. Of Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) heritage, the artist was instrumental in challenging the marginalization of contemporary Aboriginal art in Canada. He became noted for his manner of linking Indigenous world views to broad cultural, historical, and political concerns in order to provoke contemplation of multiple realities and our collective place in the cosmos. In the process, he developed an aesthetic approach more akin to the expressive layering of Rauschenberg than the traditional forms of Anishinaabe ‘Woodland School’ painters. The exhibition, curated by Greg Hill, and organized by the National Gallery of Canada, features a selection of 50 of Beam’s most remarkable works spanning his 30-year career, from his monumental-scale paintings and constructions, to his ceramics and video.
Curator: Karen Duffek