Daphne Odjig was an innovative Canadian artist of Odawa-Potawatomi and English heritage, widely celebrated for her bold portrayals of family, myth and history. Odjig was born in 1919 on the Wikwemikong Reserve on Manitoulin Island, Lake Huron. When she was a child, her paternal grandfather, a stone carver and storyteller, shared stories of their heritage and provided early artistic guidance. In 1964, Odjig attended the recently revitalized Wikwemikong powwow, an experience that deepened her connection to Indigenous traditions and storytelling.

A Time to Share is a vibrant, confident work from Odjig’s later period. A dynamic kaleidoscope of layered figures pulses with energy, celebrating the life-giving act of storytelling and the sharing of Traditional Knowledge. While Odjig’s bold style has often been linked to Surrealism and Cubism, her work is more deeply rooted in Anishinaabe pictorial traditions and a world view that emphasizes the interconnectedness of all beings, the interplay of inner and outer worlds, and a cyclical understanding of time. In A Time to Share, Odjig masterfully describes these metaphysical conceptions. Layered beings and patterned forms flow into one another, conveying a sense of spiritual simultaneity, where different realms coexist in harmonious balance.

For the biography on Dr. Luigi Rossi in PDF format, please click here.