About Rande Cook
Rande Cook was born and raised Kwagiulth in culture-rich Alert Bay, a small village on the northern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Surrounded by the beauty of land and art, Rande discovered the passion of creativity at an early age.
Rande now resides in Victoria, BC where he continues to push himself creatively by finding fresh inspiration in new mediums. He has worked with many great mentors such as John Livingston for his mastery in wood sculpting, Robert Davidson in metal work, and Calvin Hunt for his amazing craftsmanship in wood.
Rande’s latest creative ideas required him to expand his capacities, so in 2010 he traveled to Italy to train with repousee and chasing master Valentin Yotkov followed by further study in New York at Yotkov’s studio.
Rande pushes himself in all his mediums while searching for a perfection of each technique. Rande’s works can be seen in many galleries in the United States and Canada, and are now in collections around the world. In 2009, Rande became a Kwagiulth chief, inheriting his great grandfather’s chief’s name, Makwala or “moon”.
To view Rande’s art, visit randecook.com
Rande Cook’s Totem Pole Installed in Its Permanent Home
Rande Cook’s totem pole has been permanently installed outside the Museum Volkenkunde Leiden in the Netherlands. Looks amazing!
Rande Cook Attends Official Exhibition Opening in the Netherlands
Thunderbird and orca totem by Rande Cook, image courtesy of the Museum Volkenkunde Leiden, the Netherlands
Rande Cook returned to the Netherlands to attend the official unveiling and exhibition opening of “The Story of the Totem Pole” an interactive exhibition at the Museum Volkenkunde Leiden. The central element of the exhibition, which exhibits first nations traditions of the American Pacific Northwest and Canada, is the massive 8-meter thunderbird and orca totem pole designed by Cook and completed by him, along with a core team of fellow Kwakwaka’wakw carvers and painters. This is the first and only totem pole in the Netherlands. The opening was commemorated by Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet and included opportunities to share traditional costumes and dances with attendees. See more photographs of the events and exhibition here.
Rande Cook’s Netherlands Totem Collaboration Covered in The Times Colonist
First Nations artist Rande Cook, here at his studio on Bridge Street in Victoria, was selected from an open call to artists from bands across the Pacific Northwest to participate in an exhibition in the Netherlands.
Photograph by: Lyle Stafford, timescolonist.com
Check out the Tmes Colonist article on Rande by Amy Smart: “Totem goes Dutch: Victoria-based carver’s work part of First Nations exhibit in the Netherlands”
An excerpt:
Rande Cook Collaborates with Aqua-Artist Peter Lewis
– Image of Rande Cook in the Cowichan News Leader
Rande Cook is at it again, this time collaborating with artist Peter Lewis to create the coolest “drinking fountain” I’ve ever seen.
The original was commissioned for Duncan, BC’s centennial. Rande’s sculpture will be cast in fiberglass by artist Richard Gibson to produce the finished piece. In all, 25 clones will be cast and “sold at $45,000 to global collectors, institutions and cities saluting the City of Totems” with funds going back into the Duncan treasury.
Read the full article on their collaboration by Peter Rusland for the Cowichan News Leader.
Totem Pole’s Thunderbird Brings Rain to the Netherlands
Rande and his team are now in Leiden, completing and installing the first ever totem pole in the Netherlands for the Museum Volkenkunde. Rande reports:
Rande Cook Tapped to Carve First Totem Pole in the Netherlands
THE SKIN I’M IN featured artist Rande Cook has been commissioned to carve what will be the Netherlands’ first and only totem pole for the Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden. See photos and videos of the carving progress on the Museum Volkenkunde website or in the U’mista Cultural Society Facebook album.
Rande Cook and Sonny Assu: Ebb and Flow
Artist Rande Cook has another show opening next week on Vancouver Island. A joint show with artist Sonny Assu “Ebb and Flow” will run June 1- Sept. 1 at the Nanaimo Art Gallery, which is located on the VIU Campus.