Panel depicting Bear, 2002
by Doug Zilke, Canadian
deeply carved yellow cedar, pigment
24" high x 36" wide
Comox, British Columbia artist Doug Zilke (1950-2019) began carving red and yellow cedar in the Haida style at sixteen years of age. Zilke worked with renowned Haida artists Bill Reid and Don Yeomans.
Bill Reid employed Zilke on numerous projects, including the monumental commission “The Spirit of Haida Gwaii” for the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., where he was the finishing carver for the plaster positive.
Zilke worked in a variety of media including wood, bronze, silver, stone and graphics. He was a respected screen printer, and cut the stencils for many Northwest Coast prints. Zilke is one of the few non-indigenous artists carried by indigenous art galleries including Quintana Galleries in Portland, OR and Douglas Reynolds Gallery in Vancouver, BC.
Doug Zilke passed away at his home in Grand Forks, British Columbia on January 25, 2019.
