David Neel
David Neel has been creating art in the Kwakwaka’wakw style for over thirty years. His paintings, printmaking, carvings, and jewelry are all informed by his heritage, which includes several successful artists: Dave Neel Sr., his father; Ellen Neel, his grandmother; Mungo Martin, his great-great uncle; and Charlie James, his great-great-great grandfather. While many of his pieces are more contemporary in their material and design, Neel learned carving in the traditional style by his family and peers in his father’s village.
While Neel portrays meaningful stories and traditional values in all of his pieces, he says he finds jewelry the most impactful art form. He appreciates the fact that clients attach their own meaning to his jewelry and that it is used to mark important, personal events in people’s lives.
Neel has exhibited his work in many public institutions, including solo exhibitions at: the National Portrait Gallery of Canada; The Smithsonian Institution – NMAI; the Venice Biennale, and his work is represented in numerous public collections. His children are following in family legacy; studying art at the Emily Carr University and working with their father.
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Charlie James Sun Mask [Framed]
David Neel
$4,500.00 CADAcrylic paint on Canvas
Framed
This painting was inspired by a well known Sun mask by Charlie James. The designs in the background of the painting are based on traditional petroglyphs.
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Octopus That Married a Woman Bracelet
David Neel
SOLD14K Yellow Gold, Engraved
When a man returned from fishing one day, he asked a woman to bring up the catch, then returned to the big-house. However, the woman did not return from this task. The whole village searched for her, but she was never found. Years later, when two octopi visited the village, the man found out that she had been taken by a giant octopus to live under the sea. The two octopi were her children.
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Supernatural Loon Bracelet
David Neel
$5,100.00 CAD14K Yellow Gold, Engraved
In ancient Kwakwaka’wakw stories, the Loon aids the protagonist, taking him on its back and transporting him to the undersea realm, where animals live much like humans. It represents a helper spirit that is the portal or doorway to a supernatural world.
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Hummingbird & Bear Box (Artist Proof)
David Neel
$390.00 CADSerigraph, Artist Proof, Edition of 7
Unframed
(For inquiries on custom framing, please contact the gallery)
“This design depicts the legend of a hummingbird, who, while out gathering flower nectar, encountered a bear. This bear was something of a bully and would not allow the hummingbird to get near the flowers. Hummingbird tried again and again but the bear blocked her every time. Frustrated, the hummingbird gathered some twigs and flew inside the bear’s nose and down into his stomach, where she used the twigs to start a fire and then flew back outside. With smoke wafting from his nose and mouth, the bear ran away into the forest and never bothered hummingbird again. This legend teaches us that even great obstacles can be overcome.
The design is in the shape of a cedar bentwood box, which was widely used by all the tribes on the Northwest Coast. They were used as storage containers, cooking vessels, and were stacked to serve as walls inside the big-house. The sides were made from a single red cedar plank that was “kerfed” so that it could be steam bent and would be water tight. The lid was often decorated with Operculum shells that were inlaid in a pattern. The boxes were painted with elaborate designs that are the foundation of Northwest Coast Native “flat design”. David has extensively studied the work of the master artists who painted the early bentwood boxes, which has influenced his hand engraved jewelry, and inspired the design for this print.”
– David Neel
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Siwid & the Supernatural Frog Bracelet
David Neel
$2,400.00 CADSterling silver, Abalone shell, Engraved
Tapered -
Thunderbird the First Ancestor Pendant
David Neel
$2,600.00 CAD14K Yellow Gold, Turquoise, Engraved
The Thunderbird is the main family crest for the Neel family.
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Mink Creates the First Salmon Pendant
David Neel
$900.00 CADSterling silver, Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Engraved
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Broken Promises [Framed]
David Neel
$800.00 CADSerigraph, Edition of 75
2017
Framed
“They made us many promises, more than I can remember. But they kept but one: They promised to take our land, and they took it.” ~ Chief Red Cloud
Broken Promises is David Neel’s powerful tribute to those who supported the Standing Rock Sioux in their struggle against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The DAPL protests began in 2016, when the construction of this 1,886 km underground oil pipeline was approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers. This 3.7-billion-dollar project would allow the transfer of crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken oil field to a refinery near Patoka, Illinois. However, the pipeline constituted a threat to the water supply for the nearby Standing Rock Indian Reservation, as well as to the preservation of the Standing Rock Sioux’s ancient burial grounds. Thus, the pipeline sparked bitter controversy across the nation, and North Dakota was flooded with environmental and Indigenous rights activists from all over the world.
“No Native American issue in recent years has captured the public’s imagination like the protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline…. Ignored by the mainstream media, there was wide spread support from the public, and the issue went viral in social media with the hashtag, #noDapl, becoming widely recognized. It is ironic that this standoff took place on the same territory where Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Red Cloud once fought the United States cavalry. But the pipeline protests were not to protect an ancient way of life: it was about human rights – public water versus corporate profits. The water supply to millions of people, who depend on water from the Missouri River, was threatened by the pipeline which will cross the river. This inspired thousands of Americans, Native and non-Native, to brave attack dogs, water cannons, tear gas and freezing weather to protect the public right to clean water.” ~ David Neel
The central image of Broken Promises shows Chief Red Cloud, a prominent Oglala Lakota chief who lead the fight against the U.S. military in a conflict that came to be known as “Red Cloud’s War.” In this print, Chief Red Cloud serves as a symbol of Native American traditional values and the Indigenous communities’ hard-fought struggle to retain their lands. The images in the top left and right of the print show protestors from Brazil and France, respectively. The construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline raised environmental and Indigenous rights issues that communities all over the world are facing. The DAPL protests thus drew supporters on an international scale, as these images can attest. In the bottom left corner of the print, David has placed an image of protestors trying to stop earth movers from working on the pipeline. The bottom right corner features an image of the severe police response to the peaceful protest. Finally, the border of the print is constructed using a traditional Plains design, which is taken from a Plains Native American parfleche.
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Supernatural Hummingbird Pendant
David Neel
$650.00 CADSterling silver, 14K Yellow Gold, Engraved
The hummingbird has become an increasingly prominent figure in Pacific Northwest Coast Indigenous art over the last few decades. Considered to be a whimsical creature, this tiny bird brings good luck and happiness to all who come across it.
In many of the oral traditions on the Pacific Northwest Coast, the hummingbird plays the role of a powerful spirit helper, who is often associated with healing. It is believed that, in ancient times, all animals and people possessed the ability to transform one into the other and back again. In fact, this stunning Supernatural Hummingbird Pendant was inspired by a story in which The Transformer turned himself into a hummingbird so that he could fly away and escape his foe. Transformations like these often play a key role in many of the legends found throughout the Northwest Coast.
Beyond its role in oral tradition, the hummingbird serves as a sub-crest for some Haida clans, and is an important symbol of healing, peace, and love.
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Raven Ring
David Neel
SOLD14K Yellow Gold, Engraved
0.25 Carat Diamond (SI2, Good Cut), set in Cathedral Semi-Mount setting
Tapered
Width: 5/16″
Size: 7 -
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Bear & Salmon Necklace
David Neel
SOLDSterling silver, 24K Yellow Gold, 16 Gypsy Set Rubies, Engraved
20″ Sterling silver Chain with 16 Salmon Trout Head Figures attached -
Hummingbird & Frog Bracelet
David Neel
$5,000.00 CAD14K Yellow Gold, Abalone shell, Engraved
Tapered -
Sea Serpent Ring
David Neel
SOLD14K White Gold, Engraved
0.25 Carat round Sapphire, set in Cathedral Semi-Mount setting
Tapered
Width: 5/16″
Size: 7.75 -
Orca Pod Panel
David Neel
$11,000.00 CADYellow Cedar wood
The Killerwhale, sometimes called the Orca, is an important crest symbol, associated with family, power, strength, dignity and communication. In Pacific Northwest Coast Indigenous culture, every clan possesses its own history and traditions in the form of myths and legends. These legends explain how the ancestors of each clan acquired ownership of certain privileges, often gifted to them during an encounter with a powerful supernatural being. These privileges are a highly important part of First Nations life, and are retained by particular family groups through their laws of inheritance.
Mating once for life and thought to be the reincarnation of great chiefs, Killerwhales are considered to be the protectors of mankind. Although they are known to capsize canoes and drag the inhabitants to their deep-sea dwellings, they are also reputed to act as guides to humans caught within storms.
According to ancient oral traditions, Killerwhale Clans live in Killerwhale Villages deep within the ocean. When at home, they remove their outer skins and live as large humans. This legend serves as David Neel’s inspiration for the Orca Pod Panel.
“Orca Pod Panel is inspired by the family group, the pod, that is the social order for Killerwhales throughout their lives. They are known for being highly intelligent animals and are a prominent crest animal among all the Northwest coast Indigenous peoples. It is one of the main crests of my family. In our ancient stories there is a village under the sea, almost like another dimension or realm, where orcas transform from and to human form.” ~ David Neel, 2019
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