The Campbell River Art Gallery presents an exhibition featuring new work from renowned artist Rande Cook from May 15 to June 26.
Cook (K’alapa) is a world-renowned artist who pushes himself in numerous mediums, seeking perfection in each technique. His work is held in galleries and collections around the world. His new exhibition, Behind the Gold Veil, features contemporary art works, entrenched in Northwest First Nations traditions, using wood, glass and metal.
The Campbell River Art Gallery is honoured to be the first gallery to show this collection of new work, created for this exhibition.
The exhibition has also resulted in a collaborative critical essay created by Cook and Dr. Andrea Walsh, Visual and Cultural Anthropologist at the University of Victoria.
Cook was born in May, 1977 in Alert Bay. Surrounded by beauty in landscape, and art, he began creating works at an early age.
His grandparents Gus and Florence Matilpi instilled in him his strong values of life and culture.
In 2008, Cook inherited his grandfather’s chieftainship.
As well as his contemporary art practice, Cook is known for his traditional dancing and singing at potlatches.
He credits numerous teachers – from First Nations artists John Livingston, Robert Davidson and Calvin Hunt to contemporary master Valentin Hotkov – with mentoring him on his artistic journey. Cook has studied at home, as well as in Italy and New York. He now lives in Victoria.
Behind the Gold Veil, sponsored by Vicar Electric and Storey Creek Trading, opens Friday, May 15 at 12 p.m.
As of Monday, May 18, the gallery moves to summer hours, and will be open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The public will have a chance to meet Cook and learn more about his exhibition at a special closing event, Thursday, June 25, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Cook and Walsh will present a lecture for the public, discussing the evolution of the exhibition as experienced in Cook’s studio, as well as the overlapping cultural signifiers, both spiritual and material, associated with the introduction of gold.