Bruno Canadien is Dene (of mixed heritage), born and raised in Denendeh. He is a member of the Deh Gah Got’ı́é Kǫ́ę́ First Nation, a Deh Cho Region member of the Dene Nation. Currently, Bruno lives and works in the Calgary area, and enjoys spending much of his time outdoors in the traditional territories of the Blackfoot and Nakoda nations. He graduated from the Alberta College of Art’s Painting Department in 1993. Bruno exhibits steadily, and has been included in several regionally important exhibitions, including Honoring Tradition, Reframing Native Art at the Glenbow Museum (2008), the Alberta Foundation for the Art’s Travelling Exhibition Narrative Quest (2009-12), and The News From Here, the 2013 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art at the Alberta Gallery of Art. His work may be found in public and private collections, including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Glenbow Museum, Red Deer Museum, and the Indian Art Centre in Ottawa.
“The paintings within this series (2018 - 2020) draw on and celebrate the legacy of Madeline Canadien, Rita Coats, and Mary Elsie Canadien specifically, and other practitioners of Dene and Metis floral artwork generally, in beadwork, tufting, embroidery and quillwork.
In creating this dialogue with Dene Art and my Grandmothers, I chose to use the language and medium I know not simply to reproduce beautiful floral designs, but to discuss dichotomies within our contemporary existence and relationships, within our colonized land and bodies.
This work was made in honour of my matrilineal line, and is dedicated to my family and the Dene and Metis of the Dehcho.”