MONTREAL.- The Montreal Museum of Fines Arts (MMFA) presents the Canadian premiere of the exhibition Kent Monkman: History Is Painted by the Victors, which brings together some 40 monumental paintings by Kent Monkman. Through his subversive lens, he revisits history painting to challenge colonial narratives and offer new perspectives on the past and our present. The exhibition includes works on loan from Canadian and American museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and private collectors, as well as a selection from the Museum’s collection.

Representing the peoples and territories that have shaped Turtle Island (North America), History Is Painted by the Victors is a compilation of works inspired by history painting – a term introduced by the French Royal Academy in the 17th century to describe large-scale paintings with historical, mythological, or biblical subjects. Through detailed, dramatic, and often humorous compositions on monumental canvases, Monkman sheds light on the histories, identities and realities often missing from dominant narratives, particularly those of Indigenous and queer communities. The epic scope of Monkman’s paintings moves through searing scenes of oppression, lament, humour, pride and celebration. Through allegory, metaphor and astute art historical citations, his works challenge the authority of widely perpetuated colonial histories.

Monkman boldly reverses the stereotypes of the history painting genre, while addressing contemporary societal concerns, such as the climate crisis and environmental protection, the impact of government policies on Indigenous communities, intergenerational trauma, and the affirmation of the role of Two-Spirit, queer and trans Indigenous communities.

“The Montreal Museum was one of the first museums to get behind my work—they first acquired my painting Trappers of Men in 2006. I’m humbled to have a mid career survey that spans over two decades of my work in Montreal—it feels like a homecoming to me, despite never having lived there. It feels very rewarding to have recognition for my long relationship with a city that has been so supportive of my career ”, says Kent Monkman.

“For the first time in the MMFA’s history, a major exhibition by a living Indigenous artist graces the galleries of the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion. The narratives Monkman shares foster an essential understanding of the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples today while challenging not only the arts sector, but also society at large,” explains Léuli Eshrāghi, Curator of Indigenous Practices at the MMFA and co curator of the exhibition.

Two monumental paintings from the Met collection in New York

The MMFA welcomed mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People), an installation composed of two monumental paintings from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York. Exhibited for the very first time in Canada, mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People) was commissioned in 2019 for the Great Hall of this prestigious institution. The diptych consists of two paintings: Welcoming the Newcomers and Resurgence of the People. Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, Monkman’s shape-shifting, time travelling alter ego, figures prominently in both works.

Kent Monkman (born in 1965) is an interdisciplinary visual artist. A member of ocêkwi sîpiy (Fisher River Cree Nation) in Treaty 5 Territory (Manitoba), he lives and works in New York City and Toronto.

Known for his thought-provoking interventions into European and American art history, Monkman explores themes of colonization, sexuality, spirituality, loss, and resilience – the complexities of historical and contemporary Indigenous experiences – across painting, film/video, performance, and installation. Monkman’s gender-fluid alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, often appears in his work as a time-travelling, shape-shifting, supernatural being who reverses the colonial gaze to challenge preconceived notions of history and Indigenous peoples.

An exhibition organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Denver Art Museum.

The exhibition was curated by Léuli Eshrāghi, Curator of Indigenous Practices at the MMFA, and John Lukavic, the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Native Arts, Denver Art Museum.