A downtown Gibsons art gallery has reopened under new — but familiar — management, with its proprietor preparing to broadcast his cultural heritage on an upcoming television series.
Painter and carver Levi Purjue, a member of the Tahltan Nation and a descendant of Nevada’s Shoshone people, on Aug. 4 opened the doors of the Deep Water Gallery on Gower Point Road. Although its interior has been overhauled (an imposing bentwood box was custom-built and stands at the centre of the display space), it’s the same physical footprint that Purjue occupied during six years as artist-in-residence for the former Silver Moon Gallery. Silver Moon owner Monica Ardiel continues to operate her fine art printery as a home-based business.
“It’s been really nice to make it a gallery of my artwork,” said Purjue. “I never thought I’d be involved in something like this, but it’s exactly what I wanted it to be: moody, darker, and with a more soothing atmosphere that evokes a feeling when you walk in.”
Purjue’s vivid paintings combine photorealistic renderings of West Coast wildlife with traditional lineform depictions of their mythological relations. In his aquamarine-tinted work Deep Water (Dedini Nadi’i), an orca swims between two submerged totem poles. The painting appeared on the cover of the recently published Artists of British Columbia.
Purjue’s carving work encompasses paddles, masks, and panels — including a moss wall that features preserved bryophytes as a backdrop for an intricately-carved wolf on the prowl. The moon, shown as a salmon egg carved from yellow cedar, hangs above the wolf’s outstretched tongue.
“I guess the name Deep Water was a true embodiment of my work because I do a lot of ocean art,” said Purjue, “and I represent whales a lot in my pieces. I’m just kind of fascinated by that aspect.”
The store’s grand opening comes just weeks before Purjue’s first appearance on Coastal Carvings, a soon-to-launch TV series on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. The pilot of the 13-episode series will air on Sept. 1 at 5:30 p.m.
Coastal Carvings shares its name with the Coombs fine art gallery run by the show’s other stars: Métis brothers Jeremy and Jerett Humpherville. “They’re amazing carvers,” said Purjue, “and they’ve helped me a lot in refining my artwork. They took me into their gallery and I’m their painter.” The Humphervilles also enlisted Purjue as a fixture of each episode in their documentary series, as he demonstrates the transfer of traditional knowledge. It quickly became a family affair: the program shows Purjue’s grandmother teaching his teenage daughter how to bead. He also spends time sharing carving techniques with his son.
A second season of the series has already been recorded. It will be broadcast in both English and Blackfoot languages, with availability on the Apple TV streaming platform as early as Aug. 25. shíshálh cedar artist Shy Watters is also a member of the all-Indigenous cast, whose specialties range from jewellery-making to graphic design.
“If you surround yourself with good people, good things will come,” observed Purjue, who is currently carving a killer whale breaking through semitransparent waves inspired by the gossamer-like marble sculpture of the Renaissance. “Jeremy Humpherville basically took me under his wing,” Purjue added. “He knows the market very well for Native art. There’s a standard that he has set, and he’s not afraid to tell me if I need to refine it more.”
The Coastal Carving documentary series is rated G and will air on APTN TV. Purjue has launched a website in concert with his new gallery brand; it is accessible at deepwatergallery.store.
