PHILIP (PHIL) GRAY (1983-), TS'MSYEN (TSIMSHIAN) / CREE, VANCOUVER, BC
titled and dated, "'Nuxalk Portrait / '07";
signed and inscribed, "Philip Gray / Tsimshian / Cree";
signed with initials and further inscribed by the artist, "PG / Kapla".
ESTIMATE: $6,000 — $9,000
Like the preceding Lot 19, the present mask dates to 2007 and belongs to a relatively early chapter of Phil Gray's career. Yet there is little sense of tentativeness in the carving. The face is shaped with confidence, its broad planes, swelling forms and deeply set features handled with a sure command of cedar, colour, and relief.
This earlier example by Gray is a take on a Nuxalk (Bella Coola) red cedar mask. Here, Gray adopts the distinctive vocabulary of Nuxalk portrait masks, particularly the prominent rounded cheeks, rounded orb eyes, and repeating solid blue U-shapes that sweep across the brow and cheeks.
ND
Provenance
Lattimer Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.;Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, Toronto, 20 October 2008, accompanied by a copy of the original receipt.
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