Edward Poitras
The work of Edward Poitras has been included in many important group exhibitions and almost every major contemporary Native art exhibit of the last 20 years. In 1995, he represented Canada (the first Aboriginal artist to do so) at the prestigious Venice Biennale.
The themes of assimilation, genocide, displacement and survival permeate his work. Poitras explores tensions between past and present, nature and technology, western culture and First Nations cultures, combining natural materials with manufactured objects.
He has exhibited at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (Gatineau), the National Museum of the American Indian (New York) and the Museum of Modern Art (Tampere, Finland). In 2002, he was awarded the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. The jury said: "His artistic voice is one of the most compelling and eloquent to have emerged from the rich creativity that is contemporary Canadian art…. He reflects issues of identity, culture and race through a sensitive and subtle engagement with history and heritage. His sculpture, painting, drawing, installation and performance cross borders, and do so with the mystery of the trickster coyote."