projections

the paintings of henry speck, udzi’stalis

Henry Speck, Udzi’stalis (1908–1971), the Kwakwaka’wakw hereditary chief, dance-screen painter, and song leader, exhibited 40 of his watercolour paintings at Vancouver’s downtown New Design Gallery in 1964. That exhibition received significant media attention for the artist’s “modern” re-contextualizations of Native painting. Now, almost 50 years later, the exhibit Projections, at MOA’s Satellite Gallery, re-visits Henry Speck’s enduring body of work. This installation expands on the artist’s original paintings through their large-scale projection and a multi-media “backstory,” reflecting on the place of Chief Speck and his work within the often conflicting conditions of modernity.

Curated by Karen Duffek (MOA’s Curator of Contemporary Visual Arts) and Marcia Crosby (writer, scholar, and PhD candidate, UBC Department of Art History, Visual Art, and Theory).