Dwight Billedeaux

Click here to see works by Dwight Billedaux >>

Dwight Billedeaux's sculptures are powerful symbols of American Indian culture, past and present. Having taught art for 25 years at Salish Kootenai College on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, Billedeaux has educated generations of students in traditional arts, including beadwork, roach making and quillwork, as well as contemporary American Indian art forms. Currently, Billedeaux and his work are a major influence on the found art and recycled material scene in Montana. Creating dynamic sculptures from second-hand materials, Billedeaux explains, "I can see beauty in junk. I see art in everything. Shapes of objects always remind me of some form of art."

Among Billedeaux's accomplishments is the organization of Coup Marks, an artist co-operative that exists on the Flathead Reservation. Coup Marks was granted a special exhibition at the Museum of the Plains Indian in 1984. The co-operative's collection was also showcased in 1975 at the state capital in Sacramento, California, in coordination with former Governor Jerry Brown and D-Q University in Davis, where Billedeaux's father, Mr.. D.A. Billedeaux, was College President.

Billedeaux's one-man exhibits have included, the New York American Indian Community House Gallery, the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Denver Art Market, and the Sandpiper Gallery in Polson, Montana.

Dwight William Billedeaux, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe, was born February 3, 1947, in Dillon, Montana. He attended grade school in Sunburst, Montana, before his family relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada.. Graduating from Bishop Gorman High School in 1965, Billedeaux was accepted one year later to the San Francisco Art Academy. Unfortunately, he was only able to attend for a year as he was drafted into the U.S. Air Force, serving in Vietnam from 1967-1968. Upon his return from the war, he attended Western Montana College in Dillon, Montana and transferred to the University of Montana, 1971 -74, where he majored in painting. Contact Dwight Billedeaux at P.O. Box 532, Ronan, Montana, 59864; telephone (406) 644-3167.