Bobbie Burgers is a contemporary Canadian painter. Her lush and Expressionistic depictions of flowers teeter on the verge of abstraction, bursting with bright color and laden with thickly applied, textural paint. “Flowers, to me, are the opposite of still,” the artist has explained. “Changing from minute to minute, they are perfect symbols for life, death, yearning, and beauty. My brushstrokes are layered with my own internal charges, depicting anger, frustration, softness, wanting, and more.” Born in 1973 in Vancouver, Canada, she studied Art History at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. Her work has been exhibited widely at home and abroad, notably including Art Market San Francisco and Equinox Gallery. Today, her works are in the collections of the Berost Corporation in Toronto and the Royal Bank of Canada, among others. Burgers lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.

Dale Auger

Dale Auger spent seven years at the University of Calgary completing a Bachelor of Education, and a Master of Arts and PhD in Education. After completing his PhD in 1999, he went on to become one of Canada’s most acclaimed Native artists and storytellers.

A Sakaw Cree from the Bigstone Cree Nation in northern Alberta, he was a visual artist whose vividly coloured acrylics have captured the attention of many audiences. The subject of Auger’s paintings has varied over the years including portraying Native history, and more recently he captured the deeper, more spiritual levels of Native life, particularly the intricate links between Native spirituality and the natural laws of the land.

His acrylic and oil paintings are held in many notable public and private collections around the world. He is the author of an award winning children's book, "Mwakwa—Talks to the Loon", for which he was awarded Aboriginal Children's Book of the Year in 2006; and received the 2007 R. Ross Annett Award for Children's Literature, along with many other honors.

REFERENCE
illustrated and inscribed on page 138 'When I was a young man, I was given the sacred name Eagle Watcher. The Grandfathers had given me such a name so that I would utilize my vision in everything I did. I have done that. I feel blessed' in Medicine Paint: The Art of Dale Auger, The Estate of Dale Auger and Heritage House Publishing Ltd., 2009; book included with lot

PROVENANCE
purchased from the artist in 2006; private collection, Ontario

Expression from the Source

When making this painting, I just wanted to go to the canvas and start to paint whatever came through my brush. I usually start with the eyes and work my way down through the nose and the mouth, and that usually tells me what the character of this human will be like. In this case, he is a high -standing person in his tribe or community. When I work my way up to the top of his head, hair and feathers speak a language of what this human is about. To show expression through your brush that comes directly from the Creator's creative source is powerful. I truly feel blessed.

From Medicine Paint: The Art of Dale Auger pg. 130

Canadian, Cree [1958-2008] CALLER OF THE MEDICINE LODGE; 1998 acrylic on canvas 36 x 36 in. (91.4 x 91.4 cm) signed lower right; titled & dated verso Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist. Note: This work is illustrated on page 34 of "Medicine Paint, The Art of Dale Auger" (Dale Auger/foreword by Mary-Beth Laviolette; Heritage House, 2009). On the inspiration for this powerful image, Auger recalled: "I had a dream one time that I was the Caller of the Medicine Lodge. It was my duty to call on all the people, so that the ceremony could begin. Everything was just right as I stood at the entrance to the lodge with the staff stick over my shoulder and my head held high. I started my journey into the lodge. I felt powerful. 'In the Creator's name', I said, 'we must direct ourselves to the Creator, because it is the Creator that gives us life. It is the Creator that gives us knowledge.' I felt so good in that dream. I felt so good that I didn't want to leave it."