“Views of Algonquin”: The Works of Bewabon Shilling

Born in 1977, Bewabon Shilling is the eldest son of the late Ojibway artist Arthur Shilling. His paintings are inspired by his surroundings, and his subject matter consists mainly of his environment and its local inhabitants. Painting on the shores of Lake Couchiching, Shilling is engrossed by the ever-changing seasons and inspired by the people that come and go in his life. His artwork consists of paintings based on the Black River which runs near his studio, and oil sketches of Lake Couchiching. His most recent series, The Forest Series, is painted onsite at his studio in Rama ON. Bewabon enrolled in a one-year Graphic Design program before attending the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) in the field of drawing and painting. In 1999 while at OCAD, he was accepted to take part in the Florence, Italy off-campus studies program. Shilling graduated from OCAD in 2001 being awarded both the Norman Jewison Award and the Rose of Cedarvale Scholarship. He has exhibited throughout North America and Europe including Santa Fe and London, England. In 2011 Bewabon was chosen to exhibit a painting through the Art Dealers Association of Canada at the Armory Show in New York City, and in 2019 was awarded a Research and Creation Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to do a one-month artist residency in Sointula BC. He is represented by the Collectors Gallery of Art in Calgary AB and Roberts Gallery in Toronto ON where he just held his eleventh solo exhibition.