Sonny Assu
Canadian, b. 1975
Sonny Assu (Liǥwildaʼx̱w of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nations) was raised in North Delta, BC, over 250 km away from his home ancestral home on Vancouver Island. Having been raised as your everyday average suburbanite, it wasn’t until he was eight years old that he discovered his Liǥwildax̱w/Kwakwaka’wakw heritage. Later in life, this discovery would be the conceptual focal point that helped launch his unique art practice.
Assu’s artistic practice is diverse: spanning painting, sculpture, photography, digital art and printmaking. Sonny negotiates Western and Kwakwaka’wakw principles of art making as a means of exploring his family history and the experiences of being an Indigenous person in the colonial state of Canada.
Having cut his teeth in Vancouver’s art scene, Assu packed up and moved to Montreal to be with the love of his life. Five years later, along with his wife and beautiful daughter, Sonny moved back to BC, eventually settling back “home” in unceded Liǥwildaʼx̱w territory (Campbell River, BC.).
Assu received his BFA from the Emily Carr University in 2002 and was the recipient of their distinguished alumni award in 2006. He received the BC Creative Achievement Award in First Nations art in 2011 and was thrice long-listed for the Sobey Art Award. He received his MFA from Concordia University in 2017 and was one of the Laureates for the 2017 REVEAL – Indigenous Art Awards.
His work has been accepted into the National Gallery of Canada, Seattle Art Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery, Museum of Anthropology at UBC, Burke Museum at the University of Washington, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Hydro Quebec, Lotto Quebec and in various other public and private collections across Canada, the United States and the UK.| Average Sold Price |
| $950 |
| Styles |
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| Related Artists |
We shall reassert our inherent rights
By Sonny Assu
Located in Montreal, Quebec
The title "Interventions On The Imaginary" is a clear reference to Marcia Crosby’s essay, "The Construction of the Imaginary Indian", and situates itself within the realm of remix culture—as digital interventions onto works that contain the colonial gaze.
These interventions participate in the growing discourse of decolonization, acting as “tags” to challenging the colonial fantasy of terra nullius and confronting the dominant colonial culture’s continued portrayal of Indigenous peoples as a vanishing race...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sonny Assu
Materials
Archival Paper, Digital
The paradise Syndrome, Voyage #36
By Sonny Assu
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Titled after an episode of Star Trek, The Paradise Syndrome features new work by Sonny Assu. Combining Indigenous content with appropriated images and text from marine chart...
Category
2010s Abstract Sonny Assu
Materials
Archival Pigment
The paradise Syndrome, Voyage #11, #12
By Sonny Assu
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Titled after an episode of Star Trek, The Paradise Syndrome features new work by Sonny Assu. Combining Indigenous content with appropriated images and text from marine chart...
Category
2010s Abstract Sonny Assu
Materials
Archival Pigment
It was, like, a super long time ago that ppl were here, right?
By Sonny Assu
Located in Montreal, Quebec
The title "Interventions On The Imaginary" is a clear reference to Marcia Crosby’s essay, "The Construction of the Imaginary Indian", and situates itself within the realm of remix cu...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sonny Assu
Materials
Archival Paper, Digital
The paradise Syndrome, Voyage #9
By Sonny Assu
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Titled after an episode of Star Trek, The Paradise Syndrome features new work by Sonny Assu. Combining Indigenous content with appropriated images and text from marine chart...
Category
2010s Abstract Sonny Assu
Materials
Archival Pigment
The Away Team Beams Down to What Appears to Be an Uninhabited Planet
By Sonny Assu
Located in Montreal, Quebec
The title "Interventions On The Imaginary" is a clear reference to Marcia Crosby’s essay, "The Construction of the Imaginary Indian", and situates itself within the realm of remix culture—as digital interventions onto works that contain the colonial gaze.
These interventions participate in the growing discourse of decolonization, acting as “tags” to challenging the colonial fantasy of terra nullius and confronting the dominant colonial culture’s continued portrayal of Indigenous peoples as a vanishing race...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sonny Assu
Materials
Archival Paper, Digital
They're Coming! Quick! I have a better hiding place for you. Dorvan V
By Sonny Assu
Located in Montreal, Quebec
The title "Interventions On The Imaginary" is a clear reference to Marcia Crosby’s essay, "The Construction of the Imaginary Indian", and situates itself within the realm of remix cu...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sonny Assu
Materials
Archival Paper, Digital
Making a b-line to HaidaBucks, Salmonberry Frap #ftw #starbucksFAIL #lol
By Sonny Assu
Located in Montreal, Quebec
The title "Interventions On The Imaginary" is a clear reference to Marcia Crosby’s essay, "The Construction of the Imaginary Indian", and situates itself within the realm of remix culture—as digital interventions onto works that contain the colonial gaze.
These interventions participate in the growing discourse of decolonization, acting as “tags” to challenging the colonial fantasy of terra nullius and confronting the dominant colonial culture’s continued portrayal of Indigenous peoples as a vanishing race...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sonny Assu
Materials
Archival Paper, Digital
Browse all Art from Sonny Assu
Shop NowSonny Assu Sale Prices
This data represents a recent sample of sales made on 1stDibs during the specified years. All sales are anonymized.
| Sold Date | Sold Price | Category | Medium | Creation Year | |
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| $950 |
Average sold price of items in the past 12 months |
| $950-$950 |
| Sold price range of items in the past 12 months |
Artists Similar to Sonny Assu
Sonny Assu art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Sonny Assu art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Sonny Assu in archival pigment print, pigment print, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Sonny Assu art, so small editions measuring 7 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Michel Piquette, Patrick Beaulieu, and David Halliday. Sonny Assu art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $700 and tops out at $6,400, while the average work can sell for $3,000.