Morrisseau art splashes gallery

Collection of Norval Morrisseau work on display and for sale at Gallery on the Lake

BUCKHORN - Surrounded by the works of his father - Canadian icon Norval Morrisseau - at the Gallery on the Lake in Buckhorn, Christian Morrisseau feels at home.

"With the colour and spirit of my father all around it feels like being home again," Christian said Saturday at the opening of the exhibit and sale of about 50 original Norval Morrisseau works of art.

The show will run until July 25 and may be the last chance for collectors to get their hands on these famous works.

Not too many galleries can host an exhibit of this size, said owner Esther Inglis.

"We are able to do it justice.

"It may never happen again. This truly is a once in a lifetime exhibit," she said.

The 49 originals and 12 prints are the private collection of Jim White.

The pieces are for sale "so they can enrich the lives of others," he said.

"And so people can have a piece of Canadian culture and history."

Norval lived at the Whetung farmhouse in Buckhorn from 1979 to 1982. He died Dec. 4, 2007.

The Gallery on the Lake was the perfect setting for the exhibit, Christian said.

"There's a big difference having the pieces in a gallery in the forest than in the city," he said.

"This is where the colours, the inspiration and all the healing came from."

Being an artist himself, Christian said his father's work brings the spiritual world of nature to the masses.

"When we look at nature we see the physical but also through the physical and into the spiritual. And we try to bring that spirituality to the canvas for the world to see."

Each piece is a teaching, said gallery patron Josh Crough.

"There's great insight into what we can't see but should understand and respect," he said pointing to a painting titled ‘Good and Evil Battle for Life.'

"The paintings draw you to them and feed the soul," said gallery guest Krow Fisher.

Having so many historical works of art in one place was incredible for Marina Crough.

"It really needs to be appreciated," she said.

Norval was a Member of the Order of Canada and is known as the originator of the "Woodland" style.

He also held the Eagle Feather, the highest honour awarded by the Assembly of First Nations.

Norval's "x-ray" style reveals the spirit and physicality of humans and animals using black, stylized lines and vivid colours.

His works have been showcased around the world, but for Inglis the show at the Gallery on the Lake brought the pieces home.

"The show piece was painted in Buckhorn," she said.

Titled ‘Shaman Teaching Thunderbird People,' the highlight of the exhibit stretches more than three metres across a wall in the entrance to the gallery.

"The painting came home," Inglis said.

Posted By By JAMES NEELEY, Examiner Staff Writer