John Hoover

A Pair of Keets

A lifelong commercial fisherman, John Hoover (Aleut) did not begin his artistic career until his late forties. The process of building a fishing boat led him to explore wood carving and sculpture. A Pair of Keets illustrates the interconnectedness of nature and humanity. The sculpture portrays two parakeets flanking a figure with both human and birdlike features. Polychromed (painted with several colors)cedar was one of the artist’s preferred mediums, and it is a material widely utilized by Indigenous communities of the Northwest Coast. The work exemplifies Hoover’s personal innovation and knowledge of Northwest Coast design principles.