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 Ken Kirkby is a major Canadian artist with over four decades of artistic achievements. He was born on September 1, 1940 in London, England. His first exhibition was at the age of sixteen in Lisbon, which was sold out at the opening, receiving critical acclaim. He moved to Canada in 1958 and almost immediately made his way north. During a five year period he lived with various groups of Inuit and travelled Canada’s far north extensively. He recorded the people, the landscape and the conditions in a vast collection of drawings. He also discovered the awe inspiring stone structures known as ‘inukshuks’. Becoming very involved with social issues in the North he promised the people that he would find a way to raise awareness of these issues in the rest of Canada. On returning from the arctic, Kirkby lived in Vancouver and began translating his many sketches into magnificent oil paintings. His first Canadian success was in the 1960’s and 70’s, when The Alex Fraser Gallery showed his paintings. His crowning achievement is a massive work titled ‘Isumataq’, measuring 152 feet long by 12 feet high. It is the largest ‘portrait’ on canvas ever painted and was unveiled in the Parliament Building in Ottawa, on March 30, 1992. In 1993 he was awarded the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Having completed this project and raised awareness of the North, Kirkby, an avid fisherman, focussed on the depletion of the salmon stocks and the destruction of their habitats in BC rivers. After a decade of work in this area, Kirkby became the President of the Nile Creek Enhancement Society in 2006. Today Kirkby lives in Bowser on the shore of Vancouver Island. His paintings are recognized internationally and are displayed in major venues and galleries as well as public and private collections around the globe. The collectors include several members of the British Royal Family, The Hon. Jean Chretien, Pierre Elliot Trudeau and The National Gallery of Canada. |
