CULTURAL GROUP:
Kwakwaka'wakw

BORN:
February 28, 1982

BIRTHPLACE:
Alert Bay, BC

Gus Cook has been mentoring with Kwakwaka’wakw artist Rande Cook since 2011, working in copper, and using chasing and repoussé techniques. In August of 2012, Gus was commissioned through Lattimer Gallery to complete a large copper repoussé panel for an international mining company. In 2017, Gus had his first solo exhibition at Steinbrueck Gallery in Seattle. In 2019, he was featured in the landmark publication Understanding Northwest Coast Indigenous Jewelry by author Alex Dawkins. The process of repoussé involves pressing a series of punches of different shapes and sizes into the underside of a piece of metal, giving the front of the piece a three-dimensional quality. This meticulous form of metalwork is then refined on the front side with chasing techniques.