Brian Marion

Brian Marion is a First Nations artist, born in Kamsack, Saskatchewan. Growing up among the Saulteaux and Cree of the Prairies until he was fifteen, Marion then moved to Ontario to live with the Ojibway of the Northern Woodland region. Marion utilizes both the spiritualism of the Ojibway culture and the technique of the Shaman art in his paintings, applying colour to forms that are derived in part from the ancient pictographs still found in the central region of Canada. Marion’s paintings are acrylic on canvas, paper, and birch bark. His work is featured in private and corporate collections, including the collection of the Prime Minister of Canada.

In 1975, Marion began a nine-year apprenticeship with Norval Morrisseau, the internationally renowned Indigenous Canadian artist and founder of the Woodland School of Art.

Brian Marion’s many achievements include a show with Norval Morrisseau at First Canadian Place—a mural commissioned by the African National Congress, Mandela Free Leonard Peltier next?, and a mural, Rainbow World, for the Young People’s Theatre. Other accomplishments include his artwork featured in a music video with Robby Robertson, John Tridell, and Buffy Sainte Marie, three books published by Prentice-Hall Ginn Publishing, and a poster commissioned by IKEA Canada. In 1994, Marion was chosen to represent Canada at the 50th Anniversary of D-Day commemorations in Normandy, France. His work has been shown in Milan and at the Canadian embassy in Chicago, promoting Aboriginal art as part of Canadian trade missions to these countries. His work is featured in many private and corporate collections around the world, including that of the Prime Minister of Canada.