Tribal artist honored

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

Tribal artist Bobby Mercier has been selected to receive a Persona Art Honors award by the curatorial board of the Contemporary Art Station.

He is one of 50 artists selected by the board, for “their capacity to communicate meaningful concepts and narratives through an innovative visual language uniquely their own.” 

The board selects artists worldwide for the honor.

Mercier, who is also a Tribal cultural advisor, has received a number of artistic awards for his creative endeavors, which include metal sculptures and traditional Chinook woodcarving, which he taught himself, painstakingly, from studying historic examples of the art style. Today, he and a handful of like-minded carvers strive to keep the ancient and rare style alive.

“Our art form is very rare and connected to who we are as a Native people and where we come from,” Mercier wrote for the display page showcasing his work. “It’s the story of our history and our bloodlines and our environment all the way back to the beginning of our people. I love to keep this art form alive.”

 The Contemporary Art Station, founded in Barcelona, Spain, in 2018, installs exhibitions in unusual places, including the back of airplane seats and metro stations, to bring art to the attention of more people around the world.