The extensive works of renowned Indigenous artist Roy Henry Vickers will be featured at the Burnaby Art Gallery this spring, with more than 160 artworks spanning six decades on display during the exhibition.
Born in the northern village of Lax̱g̱altsʼap (Greenville), Vickers is of Tsimshian, Haida, Heiltsuk, and English ancestry. The artist has spent a lifetime drawing inspiration from the Gitxsan, Wet'suwet'en, Gitxaala, Tla-o-qui-aht, and Lekwungen traditional territories he has called home. Vickers studied traditional First Nations art and design at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art in Hazelton, and in 1986 opened his own gallery in Tofino, set within a traditional northwest coast longhouse.
Vickers’ works can be found in private and public art collections around the world. He has completed dozens of significant carved works and totem poles, advised on numerous major projects including YVR Airport, and is the author of more than 10 illustrated books.
The exhibition running February 2 – April 21, 2024 at the Burnaby Art Gallery explores the imagery, lands and waters at the heart of his work. Each work in this exhibition is embedded with story, and cumulatively transport us across time and place. The exhibition celebrates Vickers’ 50th year of practicing as an artist and charts the evolution of his distinctive style and techniques. His work has become known for elegant infusions of vibrant colours and patterns based in nature which retain a dedication to the histories, lessons, and realities of the places he depicts.
Vickers has received many awards and honours for his art and community involvement. Among them are a hereditary chieftainship and several hereditary names he has received from Northwest Coast First Nations. In 1994, Maclean's magazine included Vickers as the first artist ever in its Annual Honour Roll of Extraordinary Canadian Achievers. In 1998, the Province of British Columbia appointed him to the prestigious Order of B.C. and in 2006, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.
The City of Burnaby is honoured to have been entrusted with more than 160 artworks by the artist through generous private donations. This exhibition brings together rarely seen works, such as Lennard Light, alongside works which mark important shifts in the artist’s career, such as the fusion of traditional and contemporary in Full Moon. Each month, a different storyteller will respond to the exhibition through an all-ages storytime at BAG.
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 1, 7-9 pm
Learn More: Roy Henry Vickers
Images: High resolution promotional images
RELATED PROGRAMS
Exhibition Storytelling at the BAG:
Join us on the first Sunday of every month to listen to local storytellers within the exhibition of Roy Henry Vickers.
- February 4, 1 pm & 2:30 pm: Roy Henry Vickers and Lucky Budd
- March 3, 1 pm, 2 pm, & 3 pm: TBA
- April 7, 1 pm, 2 pm, & 3 pm: TBA
Drop-in, Free, all are welcome
To learn more about these and other public programs related to the exhibition, visit us online at burnabyartgallery.ca.
BURNABY ART GALLERY
Since 1967, the Burnaby Art Gallery has been dedicated to collecting, preserving and presenting a contemporary and historical visual art program by local, national and internationally recognized artists. As the only public art museum in Canada dedicated to works of art on paper, the Burnaby Art Gallery endeavours to represent a variety of techniques and practices from artists of diverse backgrounds. The Burnaby Art Gallery cares for and manages more than 6,500 works of art in the City of Burnaby’s Permanent Art Collection, as well as the City of Burnaby Public Art Collection.