Kent Monkman’s (b: 1965) powerful, large-scale travelling project for Canada’s Sesquicentennial takes the viewer on a journey through 300 years of history, narrating a story of Canada through the lens of First Nations. Monkman is of Cree ancestry, is one of Canada’s best-known artists, and has an increasingly credible voice to tackle the themes of colonialism represented in his paintings.
The exhibition, Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience, was commissioned by the Art Museum of the University of Toronto where it debuted, and then travelled the country.
“I can’t think about the Indigenous experience without being critical of colonial policies that were genocidal,” Monkman told Canadian Art in a feature on the artist and the show. “There is no lighter version of that—it’s pretty clear that I have to speak directly to these issues.” Hear more from Monkman on this series of work in the video below.
As both the artist and curator of the project, “he uses his signature penchant for the absurd to delve into the brutality of 300 years of Canadian history, tying it to the current-day realities for those who live on reservations or the north end of Winnipeg,” the U of T art museum says in a feature on the exhibition.
A feature on the exhibition, here.
Kent Monkman’s website, here.
His biography, here.
At the National Gallery of Canada, here.
This is No. 26 in the series 150 Artists.
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[…] Cree artist Kent Monkman, one of Canada’s best known artists, is recognized internationally as a credible commentator on Canada’s colonialist past, and as an authoritative voice on Indigenous issues generally. One of his seminal works “Shame and Prejudice” was featured on The Art Junkie in the past. […]
A wonderfully talented artist. He is painting a difficult part of Canadian History, with great style. There is something about his work’s message, and using assistants to be more prolific that bring to my mind…”No man is an island” _John Donne.
Kent Monkman is a brilliant artist – I always love seeing his work. Thanks for sharing the video.
Brilliant, exactly. Canadian Art just released that video and I thought the part about using assistants was so interesting.