24 × 36 in
in
cm
$5,000
In Kakatawa by KC Hall, bold colours and shapes overlap with precise gradients of paint. Hard black lines of graffiti are woven in and out of traditional Northwest Coast formline design, creating a pulsating and dynamic painting of a central Indigenous figure rendered in a street art aesthetic.
KC Hall’s work arises out of the tension between First Nations traditions and the urban digital world in which we exist, and he uses graffiti, elements of Manga, and stylistics of street art to illuminate the contradictions. Hall says: “What inspires me most, I think, is embracing the change that is constantly happening around us…Native art is nothing like it was 10 years ago. At one point everything was changing except for the form itself, and now people aren’t necessarily changing the tradition of the form. They are just adding to it and making it a newer version of itself, while sticking true to the foundation that it was built upon.”
| Medium | Painting |
| Signature | Signed |
| Frame | Unframed |
| Condition | Excellent |
| Seller | Gallery |
| Location | Victoria, Canada |
| Provenance | The Artist; Mark Loria Gallery, Victoria, Canada. |
Contemporary Heiltsuk artist KC Hall produces bold mixed-media works that draw on both his cultural heritage and contemporary street art. His works often features complex designs that combine traditional Indigenous elements of Northwest Coast formline design with contemporary aesthetics and processes, such as spray paint and found objects. The result is works that embody a unique visual language that reflects his experience as an Indigenous person living in a rapidly changing world.
KC Hall combines stylistic elements of graffiti and street art with traditional iconography to produce dynamic and contemporary imagery that disrupts static ideas of indigeneity. In addition to his work as an artist, Hall is also an activist and community organiser for Indigenous resistance, tackling issues such as environmental degradation and the ongoing legacy of colonialism.
Born in Bella Bella, BC in 1986, Hall was raised in East Vancouver. He belongs to the House of Wakas and descends from noted Heiltsuk artist Chief Robert Bell and he is the grandson of hereditary Chief Irene (Wakas) Brown. At a young age, Hall developed an interest in illustration and in high school, he found a passion for handwriting, lettering, and graffiti. Much of his artistic practice stems from graffiti skills learned in high school and continued under mentorship from many First Nations artists. In 2012, Hall was introduced to the visual language Northwest Coast formline when he studied with Nisga’a artist Robert Tait in the Northwest Coast Jewellery Arts Program at Native Education College in Vancouver.
Hall has collaborated with local artists on many projects and public murals. He created a mural for the UBC Museum of Anthropology and he co-designed a Spirit Blanket that was presented to Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge during their visit to Bella Bella in 2016.
Hall’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across Canada and internationally. In 2017, Lattimer Gallery hosted an exhibition titled Hálúɫ (Fresh) which featured the work of Hall and fellow Heiltsuk artist Dean Hunt. The following year, his work was featured in the group exhibition Indigenous Brilliance at the Richmond Art Gallery. In 2019, Hall and fellow Heiltsuk artist Shawn Hunt presented the exhibition Salmon People at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. Recently, a solo-exhibition titled Unsettled was held at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff, Canada.
In addition to having works held in private and public collections across Canada and internationally, Hall has also received numerous awards and honours for his contributions to the arts and Indigenous communities. Hall was selected as the 2018 Crabtree McLennan Emerging Artist and in 2020, he was commissioned by Foot Locker to create a lightbox installation titled House of Hoops.
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