Phil Gray

Phil Gray, Tsimshian/Cree, began carving in 1999 with Salish artist, Gerry Sheena. He also had the opportunity to study Advanced Design under acclaimed Haida artist, Robert Davidson. Phil works primarily in cedar, alder and boxwood. He creates masks, panels, poles, sculptures and drums. Phil belongs to the Killerwhale Clan and the majority of his works are created in his traditional Tsimshian style. In September of 2003, Phil had three of his pieces donated to the Burke Museum in Seattle. In 2005, Phil was featured in the 'Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2' exhibit at the Museum of Art and Design in New York. In the winter of 2007, Phil completed a large commission of sculptural works for Sonora Resort on Sonora Island, BC. Also in 2007, Phil completed the Northwest Coast Jewellery Arts Program at the Native Education College in Vancouver, under Kwakwaka’wakw/Haida artist, Dan Wallace. Phil was included in two major exhibitions in 2009. The first was the 'Challenging Traditions' exhibition at Ontario's McMichael Gallery, a show that was dedicated to exploring innovative and experimental works from the Northwest Coast. The second was 'Continuum: Vision and Creativity on the Northwest Coast' at Vancouver's Bill Reid Gallery, which highlighted 23 established Aboriginal artists from BC, Washington State and Alaska. In September of 2009, Phil completed a pair of large red cedar doors here in Lattimer Gallery, which depicted a 'Grandmother Moon' design. In February of 2010, Phil designed the helmet of gold medal-winning Skeleton racer, Jon Montgomery. Montgomery held Phil's helmet throughout the Olympic awards ceremony. In 2014, Phil was awarded a BC Creative Achievement Award in Aboriginal Art from the Government of British Columbia.