Reg Davidson

Country/Region: Northwest Coast (view other artists)

Tribe: Haida

Reg Davidson (b. 1954) began carving in 1972. Today he is an internationally acclaimed artist working in large cedar sculptures, smaller cedar and alder sculptures, silkscreen prints and exquisite gold and silver jewellery. Reg is also an accomplished dancer and singer with the Rainbow Creek Dancers, a Haida dance group formed in 1980 by Reg and his brother, Robert Davidson.

APPRENTICESHIPS

1977-78 Charles Edenshaw memorial house front and posts under the tutelage of Haida artist Robert Davidson, Massett, Haida Gwaii – Queen Charlotte Islands, BC

1983-84 Three Watchmen, series of three totem poles under the tutelage of Robert Davidson. Maclean Hunter Building, College Park, Toronto, Ont.

1984 Crab of the Woods, a limited edition bronze sculpture, under the tutelage of Robert Davidson for PepsiCo Kendall Sculpture Park, New York, NY

1985-86 Series of three totem poles, under the tutelage of Robert Davidson for PepsiCo. Kendall Sculpture Park, New York, NY

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

1980 Three Figure Eagle Crest – 30-ft totem pole for Malaspina College to present to Tamagawa University, Japan

1980 The Legacy: Continuing Traditions of Canadian Northwest Coast Indian Art, Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC. Travelling exhibition which included Edinburgh, Scotland

1981 Pipes that won’t smoke: Coal that won’t Burn: Haida Sculpture in Argillite, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB

1982 Potlatch Presents - Northern Comfort: Dempsey Bob and Reg Davidson, Potlatch Arts, Vancouver, BC

1986 30-ft Totem pole; Claude Davidson, Chief of Haida Gwaii – Queen Charlotte Islands, BC

1987 Hands of Creation: An Exhibition of Northwest Coast Native Art, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1987-88 Northwest Coast Exhibitions, Quintana Gallery, Portland, OR

1989 Masks: An exhibition of Northwest Coast Native Masks, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

Beyond Revival: Contemporary Northwest Coast Native Art, Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1990 Haida Project, Reg Davidson, Jim Hart. Headlands Centre for the Arts, San Francisco, CA

Haida Ritual Art: The Insistent Present, Meridian Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1993 Taught Rattles and Haida Design – University of Alaska

Tribal Miniatures '93, first annual exhibition, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

1995 Taught Spoons and Haida Design – University of Alaska

1996 Tribal Miniatures: Treasures of the Northwest Coast, annual exhibition, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

Spirits of the Forest, Sea and Sky: Masks by Mastercarvers of the Northwest Coast, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

COLLECTIONS

Private Collections:

Canada, USA, Germany, Holland, England, and Japan

Public Collections:

Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa, Ont.
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB
Museum of Northern British Columbia, Prince Rupert, BC
Queen Charlotte Islands Museum, Skidegate, BC
Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC

PUBLICATIONS AND CATALOGUES

Beyond Revival: Contemporary Northwest Coast Art, Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC

Northwest Coast: Native American Art, Craft Alliance Education Centre and Gallery, Missouri

Masks: An Exhibition of Northwest Coast Native Masks, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1994 Life of the Copper: A Commonwealth of Tribal Nations, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

1987 Reg Davidson: Masks, Prints, and Blankets. Baya Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1989-90 Reg Davidson: Silkscreen Prints, Café Gallery, Massett, Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Islands, BC

1991 Reg Davidson: A multi-media exhibition, Derek Simpkins Gallery of Tribal Art, Vancouver, BC

Yaalth Tluu: Raven Canoe, MH de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA

COMMISSIONS

1988 Eagle Memorial Sculpture, David Adam, Massett, Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Islands, BC

8-ft Totem Pole: watchmen, eagle and frog crests, Province of British Columbia for National Tour Association, Baltimore, Maryland

1989-90 40-ft Memorial Frontal Pole, K’anadsnee Cultural Longhouse, Massett, Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Islands, BC

1994 8 1/2-ft Totem Pole, Birmingham Museum, Birmingham, Alabama

1995 12-ft Totem Pole, City of Shanghai, Shanghai, China

1996 10 1/2-ft Totem Pole, Medical Arts Building, Burnaby, BC

12-ft Totem Pole, Eagle/Beaver, Gwong Chou, China

8 1/2-ft Totem Pole, Bear/Eagle, private Commission, Washington State

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