Robert Houle’s artistic endeavours span more than forty years of intense production. His use of abstraction and colour is key in understanding his paintings. In Houle’s work the land and natural environment provide metaphors for spiritual concepts, as seen in his selection of specific colours to evoke a relationship with nature. Through his paintings, mixed-media works, and site-specific commissions, Houle has exposed historical and contemporary issues affecting Indigenous cultures.
-
Red Is Beautiful 1970
-
Parfleches for the Last Supper 1983
-
Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians from A to Z 1985
-
Muhnedobe uhyahyuk (Where the gods are present) 1989
-
Kanata 1992
-
Premises for Self-Rule: Treaty No. 1 1994
-
Sandy Bay 1998–99
-
Morningstar 1999
-
Palisade II 2007
-
Paris/Ojibwa 2010
-
Sandy Bay Residential School Series 2009
-
Seven Grandfathers 2014
-
About the Author
Shirley Madill curated two solo exhibitions of work by Robert Houle as curator of contemporary art and photography at the WAG.
-
More Online Art Books
Read online or download the ACI’s incredible library of art books for free in French and English.
Learn More -
Acknowledgements
The Art Canada Institute gratefully acknowledges the support of its generous sponsors.