First Name: David

Last Name: Neel

Full Name: David Neel

Date of birth: April 7, 1960

Community: Kwakiutl

Sex: Male

Website: https://davidneelartist.com/

Bio:

Born April 7th, 1960, David Neel has had a remarkable career working in various mediums such as jewelry design, photography, screen printing, and wood carving. Though he always had a desire to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors in wood carving, Neel started his career as a photographer. 

His documentary photographs on Chiefs and Elders, Canoes, and the Pequot tribe in Connecticut have all turned into large scale exhibitions, with the first two becoming books as well. In his travels to document ways of life of First Nations communities, Neel met famous carvers Beau Dick and Wayne Alfred. He apprenticed under them for 2 years. 

Neel continued to carve, eventually making 26’ and 32’ inch canoes inspired by his documentary photographs on the subject. He also made a series of contemporary masks, titled: Residential School Mask, Ellen Neel Mask, and Overpopulation Mask. These canoe works and contemporary masks came together at the 1999 Venice Biennale, where the masks were displayed as Neel paddled the Venetian canals in his hand carved canoe. 

Neel was honoured with the Smithsonian Institution Community Scholar Grant, which allowed him to travel the world to study Native artefacts held by large institutions. 

He is inspired by his elders Dave Neel Sr., Ellen Neel, Charlie James, Mungo Martin, and Bob Neel. His uncle Bob Neel was the one to introduce him to carving as a child, and his grandmother Ellen Neel was credited with bringing screen printing to the Northwest Native community. Neel has worked with screen printing in a traditional medium, but also as a form of community engagement with his contemporary pieces reflecting on the Lakota Sioux Dakota pipeline protests and the Mohawk Oka crisis. 

Neel has allowed his interest in Kwakiutl carving to inform his jewelry design process. When discussing his artistic process generally on his website, the artist stated: “I strive to create work that underlines the relevance of Native art as a contemporary medium of expression. I have come [to] appreciate that the pursuit of knowledge and creative expansion is never ending for an artist. After 35 years as a Kwakiutl artist I have come to understand that tradition is a foundation to build upon and not a set of rules to limit creativity.”

Exhibitions

• 2016: A Portrait of the Mashantucket Pequot, Mashantucket Pequot Museum
• 2005: The Ten Commandments, Grunt Gallery, Vancouver, BC
• 2004: Living Legends, Indian Art Center, Hull, QU
• 2003: Echoes of the Ancestors, North Vancouver Arts Space
• 2000: David Neel - Living Traditions, Art Gallery of Peterborough
• 1999: walas-Kwis-Gila’ (Travels Great Distances), Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
• 1998: David Neel - Living Traditions, Kamloops Art Gallery
• 1993-95: Photographs of Native Leaders and Related Works
  • Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, National Gallery, Ottawa, ON
  • Prince George Art Gallery, Prince George, BC
  • Espace Hortense, St. Camille, QU
  • Campbell River Museum, Campbell River, BC
• 1997: Prints by David Neel, Courtenay District Museum, Courtenay, BC
• 1997: Photographs of Native Leaders and Related Works, Terrace Art Gallery, Terrace, BC
• 1997: Traditions & Innovations: Masks by David Neel, Quintana Gallery, Portland OR
• 1996: Spirit of the Earth, Yukon Art Center, Whitehorse, YT
• 1995: Spirit of the Earth, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, ON
• 1994: Images of Native America, Smithsonian Institution, NMAI, New York NY
• 1993: Spirit of the Earth, Vancouver Museum, Vancouver, BC
• 1992: Heroes and Legends, Gallery 1450, Victoria, BC
• 1992: Heroes, Ufundi Gallery, Ottawa, ON
• 1991: Beyond Boundaries, Gallery 1450, Victoria, BC
• 1991: To Speak for Ourselves: Portraits of Chiefs & Elders, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, ON
• 1991-95: Our Chiefs and Elders
  • UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC
  • Burke Museum, Seattle, WA
  • Vernon Museum, Vernon, BC
  • Kamloops Museum, Kamloops, BC
  • Native Heritage Centre, Duncan, BC
  • Langley Museum, Langley, BC
  • Richmond Museum, Richmond, BC
  • Delta Museum, Delta, BC Courtenay District Museum, Courtenay, BC
  • Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC
  • Skidegate Museum, Queen Charlotte City, BC
  • Kwagiutl Museum, Cape Mudge, BC
  • Calgary Performing Arts Centre, Calgary, AB
  • San Francisco Camera Work, San Francisco, CA
• 1986: Deep Ellum Artists Series, Allen Street Gallery, Dallas, TX
• 1985: State/Thomas Freedman's Town
  • LTV Center, Dallas, TX
  • Still Light Gallery, Dallas, TX

Collections

• Vancouver Art Gallery
• Thunder Bay Art Gallery
• Kwagiutl Museum
• Carleton University Gallery
• Seattle Art Museum
• Vancouver Centennial Museum
• Royal BC Museum
• Museum of Civilization
• UBC Museum of Anthropology
• Indian Art Centre
• Heard Museum
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection
• Denver Art Gallery
• Canadian Embassy, Guatemala City, Guatemala
• Smithsonian Institution - NMAI
• Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography
• Burke Museum
• Camosun College
• Glenbow Museum
• Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
• National Archives of Canada
• Canada Council Art Bank
• Mashantucket Pequot Museum
• Anchorage Museum of History and Art
• Surrey Art Gallery

Awards

• 2017 Hnatyshyn Foundation Indigenous Art Award
• 2005: National Geographic Society, Washington DC, Designs Film Festival Award
• 2002: BC Arts Council Grant
• 1997: Project Assistance for Visual Artists Award
• 1992: Community Scholar Study Grant, Smithsonian Institute
• 1991: Artist Assistance Grant, BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs
• 1991: Canada Council Explorations Grant: Contemporary Mask Series
• 1989: Kodak Canada Grant
• 1988: Canada Council Project Grant for “Our Chiefs and Elders”
• 1988: Mungo Martin memorial Award
• 1988: BC Indian Arts and Crafts Society Grant
• 1987: Arness Foundation Grant
• 1987: Mungo Martin Memorial Award