Aldrich museum Shows native american-influenced contemporary art

Wednesday, 04 October 2006 18:18

Ridgefield, CT - In the first decade of the twenty-first century, census figures attest that more and more Americans are identifying themselves as Native American.  With the populace claiming Native ancestry growing three times as fast as the population as a whole, Native people are one of the fastest-growing minority groups in the United States.

Recognizing its location in an area steeped in Native lore, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is pleased to announce the exhibition No Reservations: Native American History and Culture in Contemporary Art, which will be on view to February 25, 2007.

Curated by Aldrich exhibitions director Richard Klein and funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, and LEF Foundation, this large-scale group exhibition looks at artists whose work deals with both the deep cultural legacies and complex histories of Native peoples in the United States.  The project challenges preconceived ideas of what form Native-influenced work can take.

The ten artists in the exhibition are Matthew Buckingham, Lewis deSoto, Peter Edlund, Nicholas Galanin, Jeffrey Gibson, Rigo 23, Duane Slick, Marie Watt, Yoram Wolberger, and Edie Winograde.  This is a generation that has come of age since the initial Native Rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.  Their work acknowledges the past, while integrating the influences of the modern world and global culture.  Much of the work being considered does not look “Indian,” but rather incorporates Native content in surprising and innovative ways that defy easy categorization.

Significantly, the exhibition includes work by both Native and non-Native artists, but will present only artists who engage the larger contemporary art world, as opposed to those attempting to maintain strict Native artistic traditions.  No Reservations is based on the premise that the influence of Native culture and history is pervasive and has acted as inspiration for a diverse group of artists, resulting in work that explores the topic from multiple vantage points.