Cross section of art displayed

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Another Native art exhibition of approximately 150 separate works is being displayed until April 11 at the Manulife Building in downtown Edmonton. Opened on March 26, the exhibit is sponsored by the Strathcona Rotary Club which encourages independent business.

While the display features a predominance of art by Ojibway Roy Thomas and Metis Morris Cardinal, it does provide a good cross section of artwork by 11 others including artist-sculptor Brian Clark,

Mavis Liddell of BANAC (Business Assistance for Native Albertans Corporation) says the Rotary "supports anything that gets people moving towards being their own successful, independent businessmen."

The Rotary Club approached BANAC to acquire the artwork and to set up the display. It's the first time they've attempted anything like this," she explains.

The club has purchased Native art in the past for their annual auctions and have met with success in the past says Liddell. It goes to show, she adds, "that art can be a successful small business."

Two new names in terms of Native exhibitors are those of Yvonne Lavoie-Martinez and Rick Berg. Although neither of them promote themselves as Native artists, they are both Metis people. In other art circles, their names are not all that unfamiliar.

Lavoie-Martinez sells herself as a "bird painter" and has distributed her work internationally with many pieces now being in private collections all over Canada, the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia. Her medium is primarily water colours and she is, basically, self-taught albeit she is a graduate of the Alberta College of Art.

Berg is an ultra-realistic wildlife painter whose art commands as high as $7,000 for up to a four by six foot original says Liddell. He, too, is self-taught and paints wildlife as something that is "meaningful rather than obvious." Through his art, he wants viewers to "feel" nature when they look at his paintings.

"Eagle" and "elk" are two fine examples of Berg's work which are on display.

Also exhibited are the works of Ray Baptiste, Henry Letendre, Fabian Yellowdirt, Billy Joseph, Roy Salopree, Farron Callihoo, Sam Warrior and internationally renowned Eddie Cobiness.

Joseph had only two pieces and they moved pretty fast says Liddell. The works of Salopree are very good as are those of Morris Cardinal. One particular piece of Cardinal's, entitled, "Fine Weather," is an appealing 22 by 30 inch watercolor which, again, portrays his sensitivity in depicting the traditional culture of his Native ancestry.

The joint efforts of Cardinal and Roy Thomas have a strong numerical representation especially in a piece called "Knowledge" which employs the line work of Thomas and the pointillism style of Cardinal for which he is becoming well-noted.

The exhibition consists of approximately 50 originals, 85 prints and six sculptures by Brian Clark.

One particular client at the showing has been city alderman Bruce Campbell who purchased four or five pieces for his city hall office and his home Liddell says.

Also on display and for sale are rugs by Cree-ations Weaving, greeting cards featuring the art of several Natives and ceramics by Kainai Crafts from the Blood Indian Reserve.

The exhibition closes on April 11 but most of the artists' works are available from the offices of BANAC at 11738 Kingsway Avenue in Edmonton.