Salmon (green plate)

11.25" in diameter.

Lyle Wilson is an accomplished Haisla carver, printmaker, painter and jewelry maker. Whether he is drawing on paper, painting on panel or cutting images out of anodized aluminum, Wilson lays claim to a very particular graphic style that fuses traditions on the northern and central coast and introduces his own complex contemporary sensibility.

His 20-year association with the Museum of Anthropology at UBC enabled him to study the work of past masters and develop his own understanding and interpretation of the style of painting popularly known as formline. Themes of environmental concern and his indigenous Haisla language are often intriguingly and uncomfortably juxtaposed – made especially apparent in his “word paintings” which depict graceful formline figures that morph into the letters of the English alphabet. His art is distinguished by sinuous lines, fine crosshatching and a multitude of intricate details and images. His work often amplifies the more baroque elements of Northwest Coast design including the depiction of forms within forms within forms.

“Of all the stuff I do, I actually find painting the most stressful. You don’t really get to release all the pent-up energy until you’re finished the painting. Whereas, if you’re carving wood, you get to whack away at it, so it actually relieves stress. Painting builds it up.” Quote from Lyle Wilson - “Paint”, To Sept 15, 2013, Bill Reid Gallery, Vancouver, https://www.gallerieswest.ca/magazine/stories/lyle-wilson%3A-%22paint%2C%22-to-sept.-15%2C-2013%2C-bill-reid-gallery%2C-/

Commissions & Projects
1995: "Haisla House-Post"
~ 6 ft. Red Cedar replicated carving of old artifact at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC ---- artist donated the carving to the Haisla Community School, Kitamaat Village, BC.

1992: "Eulachon: A Fish to Cure Humanity"
~ Co-curated this catalogued exhibition documenting the historical and contemporary usage of the eulachon fish; opened at the UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC

1988: "Image Recovery Project"
~Using an infra-red camera, historical images were photographed, archived and replicated; this is the intesive documentation of painted images of historical work undertaken to this date.

1987: "Northwest Coast Traditional Longhouse Project"
~Assistant Co-ordinator/Liason for the planning, building of 6 different Northwest Coast Longhouses at the UBC Museum of Anthropology; the longhouses were installed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Quebec

Selected Group & Solo Exhibitions
2009: Challenging Traditions : Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast.
McMichael Museum of Canadian Art, Ontario
2009: North Star : The Art of Lyle Wilson Solo Show, West Vancouver Musuem, West Vancouver, BC
2004: Totems to Turquoise American Museum of Natural History, New York
2003: Northwest Coast Collections Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2001: Raven Stories Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2001: Northwest Innovations: Transforming Traditions Evergreen Cultural Centre Art Gallery, Coquitlam, BC
2000: Time & Tide Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1999: Arrows of the Spirit Mengei International Museum, San Deigo, California
1999: Prints on the Horizon Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1998: Transitions Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1997: Enduring Vision Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1997: Redefining Tradition: A Selection of First Nations Artist and Their WorkWhatcom Museum, Washington
1997 & 1996: Jewelry of the Northwest Coast Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1992: Seattle International Art Fair Los Angeles, California
1990: Painted Drums of the Northwest Coast Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1989 - 1991: When Worlds Collide, National Travelling Solo Show
1989: Masks: An Exhibition of Northwest Coast Native Masks Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1989: First Nations Art of the Oceans Exhibit at the Canada - Japan Bilatreal Symposium, Vancouver, BC
1989: Beyond the Revival: Contemporary Northwest Native Art Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1988: The Transforming Image: Painted Arts of the Northwest Coast Museum of Anthropology at UBC, Vancouver, BC
1986: What Is Native American Art? Vancouver, BC
1986: International Works on Paper London Ontario Regional Art Gallery, Ontario
1981: Native American Arts '81 Philbrook Art Centre, Tulsa
1980: Northwest Renaissance Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, BC