First Name: Mark 

Last Name: Henderson

Full Name: Mark Henderson

Name in syllabics: N/A

Alternative Names: 

Date of birth: 1953

Place of birth: Blunden Harbour, British Columbia, Canada 

Date of death: 2016

Community/Heritage: Wai-Wai-Kum Band, Kwakuitl Nation 

Sex: Male

Art Media: screenprint, serigraph

Bio: 

Mark Henderson is from the Wai-Wai-Kum band of the Kwakuitl Nation. He was born in 1953 and is a native West Coast artist from Blunden Harbour near Campbell River. 

Henderson’s father Sam started carving in 1950 and many of Henderson’s brothers carved as well. Despite coming from a family deeply involved in carving, Henderson’s interests lay primarily in two-dimensional design; he started painting at the age of eleven.

In the summers, Henderson worked as a commercial salmon and herring fisherman off the west coast of Vancouver Island, which allowed him to devote his winters to painting.

Henderson’s unique style relates to the old art of the Kwakuitl people, referencing the carvings of Mungo Martin, Henry Speck and the numerous, historic carvings in and around Alert Bay, B.C. Henderson is known for his sophisticated, whimsical and painterly multi-colour silk screen prints.

Exhibitions

• 2017-2018: Water Work Space, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• 2019: Vancouver Island Vanguard, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada