Innholdsfortegnelse for April-May 2024/No. 50 i Native American Art Magazine

Welcome to the April/May issue of Native American Art! This issue has our special fashion section, where we explore the work of Native American and First Nations fashion designers. Within the section you will find our coverage of SWAIA Native Fashion Week, taking place May 2 to 5 in Santa Fe. Native American Art is the official magazine of the Santa Fe Indian Market every August. With SWAIA launching their inaugural fashion week, we are here to support the artists and designers in May as well. Native American Art will be hosting a VIP launch party on Friday, May 3, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe. Tickets will be available on our website and subscribers will receive a personal email invite. It…

“To me, Indigenous fashion is a medium where we are able to bring our entire selves, both as creatives and as Indigenous people, into our work and share the specificity and uniqueness of what it means to be members of our respective nations today,” says high fashion designer Evan Ducharme. His work explores Métis history and cultural iconography, subverting colonial notions of gender, queerness and relations to place. He creates elegant designs that apply ancestral and contemporary Métis knowledge to affirm a contemporary representation of Indigenous peoples within the fashion medium. “A lot has happened [in the last few years],” says Ducharme. “I’ve had the opportunity to attend Milan Fashion Week with Indigenous Fashion Arts as an exhibitor in the WHITE Tradeshow. I’ve also begun to expand my work into…

VISIT NATIVEAMERICANARTMAGAZINE.COM OR CALL 1 (877) 947-0792 TO PURCHASE PAST ISSUES Create a library of fine Native art in your home by purchasing past issues of Native Amerian Art. Enjoy timeless works of art, follow artists’ careers, and explore gallery and museum exhibitions and coast-to-coast art destinations that continue to define the nation’s Native art market. Collectors of Native art rely upon Native American Art magazine to stay informed on the latest works from the country’s top Native artists as well as artwork from historic Native masters. Our magazine allows collectors to get a real sense of Native art that is coming available for sale—and opportunity to buy it right off our pages. Stay informed on the latest exhibits across the country, subscribe today online at WWW.NATIVEAMERICANARTMAGAZINE.COM…

As SWAIA has ramped up its fashion components in recent years, questions have emerged from viewers about what is appropriate when it comes to non-Native American people buying and wearing clothing from Native American designers. The question we hear most often is, “Can I wear the items I’m seeing at Native American fashion shows?” It’s a fair question, and one that originates with viewers who are sensitive to the designers’ heritage and also to the larger issue of cultural appropriation of items worn by Native American people. It’s a question that was posed to Amber-Dawn Bear Robe (Siksika Nation), the director of SWAIA’s fashion events, who made it very clear that if the designers are offering clothing and accessories, they are generally for anyone to buy and wear. “The objects…

The Indigenous art of the Northwest Coast of the United States and Canada developed over several thousand years of trade among its many tribes. Characterized by form and line, their art combined myth and historical narrative. In his book Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form, Bill Holm describes the dominant formlines as “continuous, flowing, curvilinear lines that turn, swell and diminish in a prescribed manner. They are used for figure outlines, internal design elements and in abstract compositions.” Around World War II when artists were searching for an American interpretation of the modernist movements in Europe, many turned to the Indigenous arts of North America, especially those of the Pacific Northwest. Crystal Bridges Museum of American art in Bentonville, Arkansas, explores one of those groups of artists in…

SANTA FE, NM Opening on April 11, King Galleries celebrates the work of Santa Clara pottery artist Susan Folwell in the exhibition Roads Well Travelled: Route 66. Folwell created 11 new pieces that will show the historic highway and some of the roadside attractions that call it home. She explains that “[it’s] a very fun way to interpret attractions and funky kitsch I’ve seen and wondered about since I was a kid taking road trips with the family.” “Susan Folwell uses the clay in a personal and dramatic manner to speak about the world around her,” says King Galleries owner Charles S. King. “This iconic highway, especially in New Mexico and Arizona, is not just a remnant of the past, but part of daily life in travelling around the states.…

It’s a landmark month here at International Art Publishing. Our sister publication, Western Art Collector, is celebrating its 200th issue, and then here we are marking Issue 50 with Native American Art magazine. These are just arbitrary numbers that don’t mean all that much, but they are fun to celebrate, especially as we look back on those 50 issues to see how far we’ve come. Hint: It’s a long way. When we started the magazine in late 2015, we did have a lot of experience in the world of Native American art mostly because we had been exposed to many of the major events, artists and exhibitions through Western Art Collector, which is where a lot of this coverage went before it had its own magazine. Once we had a…

Subscribe today to get the best Navtive American art magazine in the country, and the only bi-monthly magazine that highlights the top artists, galleries, museums, fairs and auctions throughout the art market. Flipping through the pages of Native American Art magazine you’ll find unique and engaging content including: » Previews of all the biggest markets, shows and sales.» Special genre sections highlighting unique categories of art such as pottery, textiles and jewelry.» The leading coverage related to Santa Fe Indian Market, the Heard Museum Indian Guild Fair & Market and other top events.» Insight from renowned experts, authors and curators. Find out what all the artists, dealers and collectors are talking raving about by subscribing to Native American Art magazine. Get your subscription started today at www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com. SUBSCRIBE TODAY BY…

Native American fashion is unique in how it is inspired by so much culture and history that came before it. The clothing may be new, but it often uses traditional techniques and designs that, in some cases, pre-date the fashion world as we know it. You see this in the artists who are using Plains beadwork in their runway fashion, silver and turquoise jewelry accessories in their photoshoots, and even culture-specific styles—such as formline from the Northwest Coast or Yei imagery from the Southwest—in the patterns and fabrics. So, while fashion is an art form itself, it also brings together other art forms as well, creating a unique synergy that should delight viewers. We hope you enjoy our return to the fashion world as we celebrate SWAIA Native Fashion Week…

One of the highlights of Santa Fe Indian Market every August is the Sunday afternoon fashion show. Hundreds of people line up for tickets, media fly in from around the country, celebrities are seated in the front row and the designers bring their hottest new work—it’s one big party to close out the market. Beginning this year, that one single fashion show is being expanded to a week of events for the inaugural SWAIA Native Fashion Show running from May 2 to 5 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition to at least four runway shows, the event will also include VIP receptions and parties, a fashion showroom and activation spaces, trunk shows and a fashion symposium. Fifteen designers will be showing their new collections, and they range from designers…

Native American fashion is no longer “up and coming” because the genre has already arrived—and is here to stay. Ranging from impressive statement pieces that have a contemporary appeal, to the use of more traditional styles and designs, an abundance of different trends in Native American fashion continue to rise. Prominent fashion shows are held across the country, where treasured pieces by talented artists, inspired by their culture, are on full display. In this special fashion buyer’s guide, you will find items related to fashion including apparal, jewelry and other wearable art. All of it is available for purchase. “I hope that people see these pieces as beautiful stories. I love what I do and I’m very passionate about it. I’ve come from a long, hard line in a very…

In the vibrant landscape of contemporary Native American art, modern ledger artist Chris Pappan has emerged as a leader and trailblazer within his discipline and greater community. His artistic expression departs from conventional modes and mediums, charting new courses across the expanding frontier of the artistic movement known as Indigenous futurism. Pappan, an enrolled member of the Kaw Nation (Kanza), with ancestral ties to the Osage and Lakota, has earned international recognition for his distinctive artwork on ledger canvases. Originating among Great Plains tribes in the mid-1800s, ledger art has a rich historical legacy, and it carries a mantle of time-honored traditions that Native American artists have been expected to uphold. “Growing up in the Southwest, whenever I saw Native art it was always long hair, feathers, horses—Native artists capitalizing…

Artist Hillary Kempenich—of Ojibwe, Cree, Assiniboine, Dakota and French-Canadian decent—comes from a strong background of artists, and was mentored by the late Presley LaFountain (Ojibwe). “Growing up with an abundance of creativity deeply rooted in my family and in my Turtle Mountain community, I intertwine many elements into my work as you see it today,” says Kempenich. Besides the influence of her Indigenous heritage, personal experiences and shared stories, Kempenich’s deep connections to the natural world are also important factors to her work. “As an artist, I am a first responder to the crises happening throughout the world,” the artist says. “One of my most radical beliefs is happiness and what that embodies. Happiness for me is not an individual task nor an individual journey, as we draw from the…

PORTLAND, ME For his first-ever retrospective hosted at the Portland Museum of Art in Maine, Jeremy Frey is looking back through his prosperous career as a contemporary Passamaquoddy basic maker. The exhibition, titled Woven, celebrates Frey’s talents in around 50 baskets, spanning two decades of his career. Co-curator, Ramey Mize, Ph.D., assistant curator of American art at the Portland Museum of Art, adds that “Woven highlights Frey’s resourceful gathering of natural materials and their cultural significance in his designs. The confluence of materials, process and time are inherent and powerful in Frey’s work,” Mize says. “Audiences are often astonished to discover that it can take many months for the artist to complete one work. Frey gathers every material that he uses in his practice—black ash, sweetgrass, cedar, spruce root, birch…

ONGOING DURANGO, CO The Return of the Force Center of Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College (970) 247-7456 swcenter.fortlewis.edu ONGOING SANTA FE, NM Pathfinder: 40 Years of Marcus Amerman Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian (505) 982-4636 www.wheelwright.org ONGOING SANTA FE, NM Master Glass: The Collaborative Spirit of Tony Jojola Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian (505) 982-4636 www.wheelwright.org ONGOING RALEIGH, NC To Take Shape & Meaning: Form and Design in Contemporary American Indian Art North Carolina Museum of Art (919) 839-6262 ncartmuseum.org ONGOING LOS ANGELES, CA Reclaiming El Camino: Native Resistance in the Missions and Beyond Autry Museum of the American West (323) 667-2000 www.theautry.org OPENS APRIL 11 SCOTTSDALE, AZ Daniel Begay: Clay Squared King Galleries (480) 481-0187 www.kinggalleries.com THROUGH APRIL 13 SANTA FE, NM Chris Pappan: The Motion of…

SANTA BARBARA, CA Now on view at Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art in Santa Barbara, California, is a new exhibition that will highlight Hopi katsina carvings. The unique exhibition, which celebrates the resurgence of a traditional carving method, features dozens of carving examples from numerous collections. Included in the exhibit will be works that will be for sale from four artists: Cory Ahownewa, Kevin Honyouti, Ed Seechoma and Cordell Naseyoma. The exhibition runs through May 4.…

Anyone born around 1980 will see something tantalizingly familiar in Melissa Cody’s weavings. Just what that is may be hard to put a finger on. The connection is completely unexpected, one not made previously in Navajo textiles. Video games. Now you see it. The static fuzz of a console TV. Donkey Kong ladders. The multi-colored, zig-zag, frozen screen every 40-something ex-gamer recognizes as requiring a reset. Tetris. “That’s the one game I always say is the most like Navajo weaving because when you’re weaving, you weave line by line and every string has to be accounted for, just like in Tetris in order to move the stack down,” Cody says. Growing up on the Navajo reservation—born 1983, in No Water Mesa, Arizona—owning a video game system was a big deal.…

Ayimach_Lodge Ayimach_Lodge is a unique collaboration between Canadian fashion designers Angela DeMontigny (Cree-Métis) and Jason Baerg (Métis Nation), and actor Rachelle White Wind (Ojibwe-Cree). Baerg will be most familiar to Santa Fe audiences since he has participated in SWAIA’s fashion events for several years. DeMontigny is known for her use of leather and suede in her clothing and handbags, as well as cultural motifs from her background including fringe, beadwork and cutwork in a style she describes as “Indigenous luxury.” www.jasonbaerg.ca | @ayimach_lodge Carrie Wood “Chizhii” Carrie Wood (Navajo (Diné)) resides in Santa Fe, where she uses fashion design as a creative outlet. Her Chizhii brand draws inspiration from her culture and community, always striving to make pieces that resonate with them. In recent years, Wood has been very active…

Welcome to our third Paint, Paper & Photography section in Native American Art. As with our other two iterations of the section, it was tough to bring the coverage down to a manageable size simply because there are so many artists worth covering, so many new shows opening and an abundance of great art on the market. When we started this section in 2021, we worried we were going to have a hard time filling the pages, and then content came rolling in. This year’s coverage includes William Healey’s art collection at the Saint Louis Museum of Art, Marie Watt’s flatworks in New York, Chris Pappan in New Mexico, and much more. We hope that these artworks inspire new exploration for our readers within the medium of two-dimensional artwork. Enjoy!…

Jade Bread is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and has tribal affiliation with San Carlos Apache Nation in San Carlos, Arizona; and with the Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana. Bread’s ledger art typically features figures in traditional dress. Although she takes creative license in her use of bright hues, she remains true to the designs of whichever tribal affiliation she is portraying. “I believe that is why it resonates with not only our past but our present,” says Bread. “I like and choose to keep things very recognizable as to which tribe it belongs to, while giving a personal and modern day flare.” Her work incorporates traditional motifs from all her tribal affiliations including floral, geometric, tipi and lodge designs of the Blackfeet people; the squash blossom and…

LOS ANGELES, CA Roughly 200 lots will be in Bonhams’ Modern Native American Art and Jewelry sale on April 30 at the auction house’s Los Angeles location. With a primary focus on two-dimensional fine art with jewelry a close second, the auction will also include a strong selection of late 20th-century pottery and weavings by notable makers. Top highlights in the painting category include Dartmouth Portrait #3, a 1973 example from the series Fritz Scholder painted while an artist-in-residence at Dartmouth College. The series was exhibited in the famed Cordier & Ekstrom Gallery the following year, and is credited with bringing the artist to the attention of the establishment art world. The painting which has a high estimate of $150,000, has been in a private collection since it was acquired…