Richard Hunt
- Victoria
Richard
Hunt was born in 1951 at Alert Bay, British Columbia, into a family
of internationally respected artists, including his father Henry
and his grandfather Mungo Martin. Richard Hunt began carving with
his father at the age of 13.
In 1973, he
began work at the British Columbia Provincial Museum in Victoria
as an apprentice carver under his father. The following year he
assumed the duties of chief carver in the Thunderbird Park carving
program. He remained at the museum in that capacity for 12 years.
In December 1986, Mr. Hunt resigned this position and began a new
career as a freelance artist.
Richard Hunt
has played a leading role in the renaissance of Northwest Indian
art. It is a rebirth that has spread throughout North America and
influenced indigenous art around the world. A master carver, experienced
ritualist and dancer, Richard Hunt has created a diverse body of
art that contributes much to the preservation and perpetuation of
Kwa-gulth culture and traditions. His totems, prints, drums, masks
and bowls are the pride of museums and private collections around
the world. He has also communicated his art and culture, in talks
to students, from preschool to university level, and museum visitors
who watched over the years as he worked.
Outside Canada,
Richard Hunt has been an effective ambassador for native people,
for British Columbia and Canada. Richard Hunt's Indian name - 'Gwe-la-yo-gwe-la-gya-les'
- means 'a man that travels around the world giving'. Through his
art, Richard Hunt has indeed given much.
He is a man
possessed of enormous reserves of energy and has dedicated his creative
talents towards furthering the cultural ambitions of the Kwa-gulth
people.
|