Patrick Amos

 (1957 – Present; Nuu Chah Nulth)

Nuu Chah Nulth artist Patrick Amos was born in 1957 into the Mowachaht Band and raised in Friendly Cove. After attending residential school on Meares Island, Patrick relocated to Victoria where he met other First Nations artists. He began creating designs for limited edition prints in 1976, and in 1979 he began a wood carving apprenticeship with Kwakwaka’wakw artist Tony Hunt Sr. He later worked with fellow Nuu Chah Nulth artist Tim Paul at the Royal British Columbia Museum, carving large totem pole projects including a 36-foot Hesquiaht pole destined for New Zealand.

Patrick’s first solo exhibition took place in 1991 at a gallery in Stratford, Ontario. Since then, he has regularly participated in exhibitions across Canada and has continued working on a number of private and public totem pole commissions. Beyond his monumental sculpture, Patrick also carves masks, bowls, and rattles, and he continues to design and produce limited edition prints.