Exhibition - Gigaemi Kukwits: The Travelling Line

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Showcasing the remarkable work of Gigaemi Kukwits, this exhibition includes a selection of his paintings, many from the last 20 years. Now in his seventh decade as an artist, Gigaemi has consistently sought to create compelling work that joins his Indigenous heritage and experience with the artistic influences around him. In 1966, he spent several months on a trip that took him across Europe, stopping in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Munich, where he viewed the art in such museums as the Tate, the Louvre, and Rijksmuseum and made new works that he sold along the way. After spending two years at the Vancouver School of Art from 1967 to 1969, he concluded that his learning would be more productive if he returned home. Ensuing travels and time spent in Morocco, Thailand, Indonesia, and the American desert in Arizona, among other places, furthered his sense of creative curiosity and experimentation. The subjects of Gigaemi’s paintings range from narrative to symbolic, to purely formal play, all unified by his intention to explore.

Gigaemi Kukwits is of Capilano, Kwakwaka’wakw, and Tlingit heritage. He holds a Musgamakw Dzawada’enuxw (Kwakwaka’wakw) seat in the Big House, his name passed to him from his grandparents of the Dzawada’enuxw; his Squamish name Kukwits was appointed by his uncle, Simon Baker of Capilano. At a young age, Gigaemi was influenced by Elders who were trained professional artists. He also studied at the Vancouver School of Art (now the Emily Carr University of Art + Design) in 1967 to 1969.

Image credit: Gigaemi Kukwits, Red Neck Ring House, 2021, Courtesy of the artist and Ceremonial | Art.

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The West Vancouver Art Museum builds awareness of diverse forms of contemporary and historical art, architecture, and design, engaging audiences with issues and ideas central to the community and the world beyond.

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