John Marston

Country/Region: Northwest Coast (view other artists)

Tribe: Coast Salish

Coast Salish carver John Marston (Qap'u'luq) was born in 1978 into a family of exceptional artists in Ladysmith, British Columbia. He has worked with many other prominent Northwest Coast carvers, including Simon Charlie, Silas Coon, Shawn Karpes, Wayne Young, and his brother, Luke Marston. His career has also been shaped by careful study of museum collections and by travel and cultural exchanges, including a trip to the Sepik River in 2006 and an exhibition in Japan the following year. His exchange to Japan was the subject of two television programs broadcast widely in both Canada and Japan. In 2009, John was honoured with the BC Creative Achievement Award for Aboriginal Art. Later that year, he participated in the groundbreaking international exhibition Hailans to Ailans.

Extraordinary dimensionality, bold design, and exquisite finishing are trademarks of John's carving. His work can be viewed at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, the Vancouver Airport, and the Vancouver Convention Centre, and is included in other major public and private collections worldwide.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2000 Tribal Miniatures '00, annual exhibition, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2001 Tribal Miniatures '01, annual exhibition, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2001 Emergence, House of First Voices, Victoria, BC

2002 Tribal Miniatures X, annual exhibition, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2003 In Celebration of the Feast, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

The Shaman's Gift, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

2003 The Storytellers, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2004 Awakening: A Salish Gathering, Stonington Gallery, Seattle, WA

2004 Tribal Adornments, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2005 SHINE: Adornments of the Northwest Coast, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2005 Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2, Museum of Art & Design, New York, NY, USA

2006 The Journey By Canoe, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2006 Rhythms of the Garamut, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2007 Transporters: Tradition and Innovation, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC

2007 Gathered Treasures, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria,
BC

2008 Prince Takamado Gallery at the Embassy of Canada, Tokyo, Japan

2008 Ome Municipal Museum, Japan

2009 Honouring the Ancient Ones, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

2009 Hailans to Ailans: Contemporary Papua New Guinea Art, International Exhibit: Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, London, UK & Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2009 S'abadeb The Gifts - Royal BC Museum, Victoria BC

2010 Pacific Currents Group Exhibition, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2011 Pacific Prints 2011, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2011 Ailans Travelled, Group Exhibition, Celebrating the return from London of several works created for Hailans to Ailans, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

AWARDS

2009 British Columbia Creative Achievement Award for Aboriginal Art

VIEW SHORT BIOGRAPHY