Larger Than Memory: Contemporary Art From Indigenous North America presents works by contemporary artists working across the United States and Canada in a variety of mediums and modalities. The exhibition centers around works produced in the 21st century, highlighting the significant contribution Indigenous artists have made and continue to make to broader culture from 2000 to 2020. Indigenous artists from North America present work that addresses critical dialogues taking place globally, engaging with challenging mediums and modes of production, expressing a continuum of their respective cultural heritages while also entering into conversation with and interpreting the canon of art history. Artists in this exhibition include: Neal Inuksois Ambrose-Smith, Nanobah Becker, Nanibah Chacon, Lewis Desoto, Jeffrey Gibson, Elisa Harkins, Brian Jungen, Brad Kahlhamer, Ian Kuali’i, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Meryl Mcmaster, Kent Monkman, Laura Ortman, Mike Patten, Eric-Paul Riege, Cara Romero, Kali Spitzer, C. Maxx Stevens, Jock Soto, Jaune Quick-To-See-Smith, Marie Watt, Kathy Elkwoman Whitman, Steven Yazzie.
Larger Than Memory: Contemporary Art From Indigenous North America
Meryl McMaster
nehiyaw (Plains Cree)/English/Scottish/Dutch, b. 1988
What Will I Say to the Sky and the Earth II, 2019
Chromogenic print mounted to aluminum composite panel, ed. 1/5
Heard Museum Collection, Gift of Kathleen L. and William G. Howard
Kent Monkman
Cree, b. 1965
Danaë Receiving the Golden Rain, 2015
Acrylic on canvas
Heard Museum Collection, Gift of Pivotal Foundation, Francis and Dionne Najafi in honor of John and Ellen Stiteler
Ian Kuali’i
Kanaka Maoli, b. 1977
Monument/Pillar, 2020
Hand-cut vinyl
Collection of the artist
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and Neal Inuksois Ambrose-Smith
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, b. 1940 and b. 1966
Trade Canoe: Fry Bread, 2018
Wood lath, artificial sinew, frybread, varnish
Courtesy the artists and Garth Greenan Gallery, New Yor
Cara Romero
Chemehuevi, b. 1977
Indian Canyon, 2018
Digital chromogenic print
Heard Museum Collection, Gift of Karen Truax in memory of her parents Dr. Maurice L. Sievers and Bud Sievers
Nanibah Chacon
Diné/Chicana, b. 1980
What Dreams Are Made Of, 2018
Acrylic on canvas
Collection of the artist
Photography: Pat Berrett
Brian Jungen
Dane-zaa, b. 1970
Tombstone, 2019
Rubbermaid step stools, filing cabinets
Courtesy of the artist and Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver
“The terrific range of project proposals we receive each year speaks to the mobile and porous disciplinary boundaries of contemporary art practice, and to the rich and inventive ways writers approach art today. They are alert to the urgent need to expand the conventions of art history and criticism with ideas from other discourses, such as black studies, transnational and diaspora studies, gender and women’s studies, and LGBT studies. The work of lesser known and overlooked artists and art communities continues to be mined, with writers articulating new ways to counter the striking imbalances of race, class and gender that continue to affect the arts and the culture industry.”