Lia Chang
Nicholas Galanin Photo by Lia Chang
The exhibition features works of indigenous peoples from the Southwest region of the United States of America that illustrate their strong and often neglected influence on Modern and Contemporary art.
Funerary vessels, paintings, pottery, weavings, and baskets from fourteen tribes including the Apache, Hopi, Mimbres, Navajo, and Zuni are exhibited alongside Modern and Contemporary works by artists such as Josef Albers, Max Ernst, Agnes Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe and Jackson Pollock (see complete list below), illustrating the profound inspiration these artists found in the desert landscapes and Native American cultures of the Southwest.
Iconic photographs by Ansel Adams, Edward Curtis, Sumner Matteson, Paul Strand and Adam Clark Vroman are on view as well, providing both a historical and geographical framework for the objects and artworks.
Also on display is the full six-volume set of the legendary publication, Historical and Statistical Information, Respecting the History, Conditions and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft published between 1847 and 1857. Additionally, a selection of important mid-nineteenth century books by George Catlin and illustrations by Karl Bodmer, which were among the first publications to illustrate and document Native American life give further insight and reference.
Contemporary artists Andrea Geyer/Simon J. Ortiz and Nicholas Galanin offer reflection on the social and political significance of the Native American peoples and how these factors have shaped their artwork.
Works by the following tribes and artists are included in the exhibition:
Apache, Arapaho, Acoma, Cayuse, Havasupai, Hopi, Mimbres, Navajo, Panamint, Pueblo, Sioux, Yavapai, Zia, Zuni
Ansel Adams, Edward Curtis, John Karl Hillers, Lee Marmon, Sumner Matteson, Paul Strand, Adam Clark Vroman
Josef Albers, Max Ernst, Helmut Federle, Nicholas Galanin, Andrea Geyer/Simon J. Ortiz, Agnes Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe, Bruce Nauman, Jackson Pollock, Charles Simonds
Kindred Spirits, Native American Influences on 20th Century Art, a hardcover book published by Peter Blum Edition, includes 118 illustrations of all of the works in the exhibition and features texts by the poet and art critic Carter Ratcliff, and Comanche author, essayist and curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, Paul Chaat Smith.
In context of the exhibition, a series of discussions will take place at Peter Blum Soho, 99 Wooster Street, NY: Nicholas Galanin will give a presentation on Tuesday, November 1st at 6:30 pm. A poetry reading and discussion by Simon J. Ortiz will take place on Thursday, December 15th at 6:30 pm.
For additional information contact: soho@peterblumgallery.com.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 10am-6pm; Saturday 11am-6pm.
BLUMARTS INC.
99 Wooster Street
New York, N.Y. 10012
Tel (212) 343-0441
Fax (212) 343-0523
peterblumgallery.com
About Nicholas Galanin
Born in Sitka, Alaska, multi-disciplinary artist Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Aleut) has trained extensively in ‘traditional’ as well as ‘contemporary’ approaches to art, and pursues them both in parallel paths. Galanin, an accomplished visual artist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and the founder of Homeskillet Records, created the Homeskillet Fest in 2006 to showcase Alaskan musical talent and give Alaskan artists a chance to share the stage with professional musicians.
His stunning bodies of work simultaneously preserve his culture and explore new perceptual territory. Galanin comes from a long line of Northwest Coast artists – starting with his great-grandfather, who sculpted in wood, down through his father, who works in both precious metal and stone. Having always had an interest in creating, Galanin took on apprenticeships at an early age – first with his father and his uncle, then with other local, traditional artists. When he was about 18, he began to feel the strain of being pulled in two directions – working a day-job, with its requisite frustrations and energy drain, while simultaneously apprenticing in the arts. At that point he realized that he needed to commit himself totally to art-making, or it “wasn’t going to happen.” From early craft courses, he went on to study at the London Guildhall University (in London, England from 2000 to 2003), where he received a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts with honors in Jewelry Design and Silversmithing. Galanin discovered a graduate arts program at Massey University in New Zealand that meshed perfectly with his interests and concerns, and in 2004 he began earning a Master’s degree there in Indigenous Visual Arts. http://galan.in/
Other articles by Lia Chang
Nicholas Galanin featured in SEEING INDIGENOUS, Indigenous Art and Media Arts on Film, at the National Museum of the American Indian in NY on 5/7/11National Museum of the American Indian in NY, ESSENTIALLY INDIGENOUS?: Contemporary Native Arts Symposium, 5/5-6
Nicholas Galanin is among nine Native Artists featured in “Dry Ice” Exhibit in Princeton
Alaskan and National Acts to Share Stage at Sitka’s Homeskillet Fest, July 15-18
In Conversation with Nicholas Galanin
Nicholas Galanin is featured in Identity Exhibition at Alaska House in New York
Andy Warhol, Romare Bearden, Alexander Calder, Lia Chang in Art & Healing Exhibit at Snug Harbor on SI
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.
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Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography
Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.
As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”. She has appeared in Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and “New York Undercover”.
Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.
Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.
