Totem poles, sculptures, masks: art of carver Dempsey Bob at MMFA

The works of one of Canada’s most accomplished carvers are in Montreal for all to see.

“Wolves” is the latest exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. It features a retrospective of the works of carver Dempsey Bob.

“A lot of people say I could make the wood look like butter,” said Bob. “You know, it’s carvable.”

Bob, who is from British Columbia, won the Governor General’s Award in visual and media arts in 2021.

His work includes, totem poles, sculptures and masks.

Dempsey Bob’s art from “Wolves” exhibition at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on May 16, 2023. (Gareth Madoc-Jones/CityNews)

“My work has been seen by just collectors, basically,” Bob told CityNews. “Over the years, I had some in books, but most of my pieces are in private collection, so nobody sees them. And this is really important because it shows respect for our culture, for my art, too.”

These works demonstrate Bob’s unique ability to manipulate wood, as well as the theme of nature, notably the effect of pollution on frogs and salmon.

Much of Bob’s work takes traditional narratives and practices while integrating contemporary influences.

“One of the recurring themes in Dempsey’s work is the transformation animal to human form, human to animal form,” said Curtis Collins, the director and chief curator at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler. “And I think it underlies a perspective on the world that sees animals and humans as interchangeable and of equal value.”

Dempsey Bob’s art from “Wolves” exhibition at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on May 16, 2023. (Gareth Madoc-Jones/CityNews)

This exhibition highlights 60 of the artist’s work, including some of his earliest pieces from the 1970s.

“You’ll see some of my work, my newer pieces, they’re wall sculptures, they’re not a totem pole and they’re not a painting,” said Bob. “They’re a sculpture with a twist… and that innovation came from working with the Maoris in New Zealand. And that’s my new addition to my work.”

Bob belongs to the Wolf clan, with ancestry tied to the Tahltan and Tlingit peoples – First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest. That inspired the exhibit’s name.

“I wanted to honour my grandparents because my grandparents are wolves, my grandmother and my mother,” he said. “And they were the only ones that supported me when I started doing my artwork.”

He says it’s an honour to have his work displayed at the MMFA.

“Because most artists never get there, very few.”