Informal conversations on art held at Shurniak Art Gallery

ASSINIBOIA -  The Shurniak Art Gallery in Assiniboia hosted an interesting event they called “Informal Conversation(s) on Contemporary Art-Making” on December 1.

The main purpose of the afternoon, it appeared, was to showcase two local artists from southern Saskatchewan: Kimisoo Goodtrack from the Wood Mountain Lakota Reserve, and Neil Jones, from Regina, who now lives in Rockglen.

Both Kimisoo and Neil are well known visual artists from the area. Kimisoo is also a storyteller. Wayne Baerwaldt, an out of town Visual Arts Curator and long time friend of the gallery, acted as moderator and MC for the event.

In all, the afternoon was filled with insight, information, sharing, meaningful dialogue, and exchanges, followed by a question and answer period near the end of the session. Those in attendance - some 40 or 50 in number - learned much about the artists’ bodies of work, their style, their passion, and their inspiration.

Kimisoo Goodtrack was born in Moose Jaw. “I am of mixed-blood”, she stated in her own words. “My mother was born on the Wood Mountain Lakota Reserve”. Early on in life, Kim’s family moved to British Columbia in hopes of finding a better future for themselves. They lived and worked there for nearly 40 years.

Kimisoo went on to pursue a career in higher education, receiving a professional Teaching Certificate and a Bachelor of General Studies from Simon Fraser University at the age of 27. She proceeded to teach school in BC for the next 24 years. In 2015, at the age of 55, Kim retired, and promptly moved back to Saskatchewan, where she soon met and fell in love with Lakota Band Councillor Stan Lethbridge. Stan and Kimisoo presently live together in the beautiful hills of the Lakota Reserve, just south of Wood Mountain. It’s interesting to note that both Kimisoo and Stan’s great-grandmothers crossed the Medicine Line into Canada with Sitting Bull, seeking refuge from the U.S. Army after the defeat of General Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876. At the time, Sitting Bull was the most feared man in all of North America. To this day, he remains the most popular and famous Lakota Chief of all time.

Kimisoo is 66 years of age. She recently purchased the old CIBC bank building on Main Street in Rockglen, and opened her Lakota Art Gallery in February of 2019, just one month before Covid-19 arrived on the scene.  An energetic and kindly soul, Kim has written 5 children’s books and produced more than 90 children’s television shows for APTN showing the Lakota culture and way of life.

Others describe Kimisoo’s art as abstact, or somewhere between “figurative and abstraction”, says Art Curator Wayne Baerwaldt. But Kimisoo herself describes her work as ‘representional abstract design’. “At one time”, she said sadly, “galleries said there was no category for my art”. Now galleries clamour to show her work.

To say that Tipis and Buffalo are Kim’s greatest passion, would be a gross understatement of the obvious. They’re also her inspiration. They are both sacred to her, since they represent a large part of her people’s rich culture and heritage.

Triangles are also an important part of the Lakota culture, representing stars in the heavens and tipis on the earth. Kim often uses ‘acrylics on canvas’, as a medium, and occasionally ‘watercolours on paper’. Lately, however, since moving back to Saskatchewan, she can be found painting on old Buffalo skulls. “Buffalo skulls are sacred, so one must speak quietly, gently, and in a positive manner around them”, she says matter-of-factly, with a smile on her face.

“No negativity is allowed in their presence”, she confesses. Conversing with one of her buffalo skulls, in an effort to transform it into yet another masterpiece, she boasts: “You lucky fellow - you’re going to look soooo good and soooo darned handsome after I’m through with you”! And he did. She kept her promise.

Neil Jones, meanwhile, grew up on a farm adjacent to the Pasqua Reserve near Fort Qu’Appelle in Saskatchewan. He ‘hung out’ and played with all the First Nation children on the reserve, and subsequently developed close, long-lasting ties and relationships with them and their families. Neil’s great love of Mother Nature, its wildlife, and anything First Nations, is reflected in much of his art. However, he also paints landscapes, portraits, and old buildings - “ ... anything of beauty, really”, he confessed. “I love doing commissions”, he added. The southlands of Saskatchewan hold a special place in his art and in his heart.

Neil and his wife Jan visited Rockglen on numerous occasions before actually moving there from Regina in September of 2008. They bought an older home, did some renos, and opened Neil’s studio and gallery in 2009. When His wife passed away in May of 2018, Neil took a temporary break from his art, but he is once again inspired, motivated, and back at work.

Neil's art, by his own admission, is created mostly on canvas with ‘oils’, but occasionally also on wood. He personally describes his style as "realist - impressionalistic." However one might describe Neil's style, his art is carefully and realistically presented in great detail, setting him apart from most other artists. To the average observer, his art and style are straightforward and direct, yet interestingly unique. One quick look and you know instantly, it's a Neil Jones' piece.

Both Neil and Kimisoo Goodtrack are well-known and celebrated artists in Western Canada - each in their own right. Both have won numerous awards for their wonderful bodies of work. And both have extremely high praise for Bill Shurniak - Creator and Founder of the Shurniak Art Gallery. To quote Neil Jones, "Bill Shurniak was a good, kind and faithful friend, whose support for local artists was unparalleled and unequalled. Bill was genuinely a really nice guy! The Shurniak Gallery here in Assiniboia, is probably one of the best galleries in all of Western Canada," he concluded. Kimisoo echoed Neil's words.

No argument here from the peanut gallery!