Carl Beam (1943-2005) biography
An internationally acclaimed contemporary Canadian artist of Ojibway descent, Carl Beam was born in M'Chigeeng
(West Bay) on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Graduating with a BFA from the University of Victoria,
he continued his art studies in the MFA program at the University of Alberta. Actively engaged
with postmodernist art practices, Beam developed a provocative aesthetic that spanned diverse mediums
including multimedia paintings, prints and constructions. Juxtaposing diverse referents - popular
culture, art history, personal and collective memory - Beam's work rejects Western historical and cultural
hegemony, collapses hierarchies and incorporates Native worldview on equal footing. Widely exhibited
across Canada and internationally until his death in 2005, Beam's works are represented in numerous public
and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, McMichael Collection of Canadian Art,
Canadian Museum of Civilization, and Albright-Knox Gallery, among others. In 2005 he was awarded
the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts.
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