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IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) Summer/Fall Exhibitions—Opening Reception
Thu, August 18, 2016, 5:00 pm–7:00 pm
| Free
Opening reception for the 2016 Summer/Fall Exhibitions at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) and featuring DJ Celeste Worl (Tlingit).
Rick Bartow: Things You Know But Cannot Explain
Organized by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, the exhibition represents 40 years of work by the Native American artist.
More than 120 paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints will be on view in “Rick Bartow: Things You Know But Cannot Explain,” a major retrospective exhibition organized by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) at the University of Oregon.
“Things You Know But Cannot Explain” is curated by Jill Hartz, JSMA Executive Director, and Danielle Knapp, JSMA McCosh Associate Curator. Drawn from public and private collections as well as the artist’s studio, the exhibition and accompanying catalog explore themes central to the artist’s work and life: “Gesture,” “Self,” “Dialogue,” “Tradition,” and “Transformation,” as well as “New Work,” featuring exciting examples of Bartow’s production since his stroke in August 2013 that evidence a new freedom of scale and expression.
Read more about Rick Bartow: Things You Know But Cannot Explain—A Retrospective Exhibition.
Lloyd Kiva New: Art
Lloyd Kiva New: Art features nearly thirty paintings by Cherokee artist Lloyd Henri “Kiva” New (1916–2002) completed between 1938–1995. New is best known for fashion design and the development of innovative concepts in cultural based education for Native people. Extravagant handbags, dresses, and modern design are calling cards of New’s art career, but his two-dimensional works are not as well known. The paintings, from his personal collection and rarely shown in a museum or gallery, exemplify how Lloyd “Kiva” New viewed art. Beautiful landscapes, geometric abstractions, and realistic depictions of life in watercolor and oil are reflections of a humble man who enjoyed painting for himself. These paintings are an example of how New, famous fashion designer and entrepreneur, expressed his thoughts and feelings.
Read more about the Lloyd Kiva New: Art exhibition.
Forward: Eliza Naranjo Morse
Perhaps we yearn to make our lives good and find balance because even when we feel completely challenged there is the unrelenting proof in each of us that we are survivors, that we are the result of our ancestors histories and that eventually we will become ancestors. This collection of work interprets facets of this thought.
Eliza Naranjo Morse is Santa Clara Pueblo, and lives in Espanola, New Mexico. Born in 1980, she comes from two large families and has a twin brother. Her process has been greatly defined by her elders’ information, drawing, color, cartoons, clay, emotions, navigating the human experience, and searching for balance. She has shown her work locally as well as internationally and currently keeps her studio at an old Post Office in Chimayo, New Mexico.
Read more about the Forward: Eliza Naranjo Morse exhibition.
Akunnittinni: A Kinngait Family Portrait—Pitseolak Ashoona | Napachie Pootoogook | Annie Pootoogook
Loosely translated, the Inuktitut word Akunnittinni means “between us.” This exhibition chronicles a visual dialogue between an Inuk grandmother, mother, and daughter—Pitseolak Ashoona (1904-1983), Napachie Pootoogook (1938-2002), and Annie Pootoogook (1969- ). Their artworks provide a personal and cultural history of three generations of Inuit women whose art practices included autobiographic narratives and have chronicled intimate and sometimes harsh memories and historically resonant moments. The prints and drawings on view also include sardonic references to pop culture that now infuses everyday life in Kinngait (Cape Dorset), as well as nuanced depictions of family and village life. Kinngait is a remote Arctic community located on Dorset Island near Foxe Peninsula at the southern tip of Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. The region is known internationally for their artwork, produced in places like the now famous Kinngait Studios (West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative) since the 1940s. Pitseolak Ashoona, Napachie Pootoogook, and Annie Pootoogook are among the most well regarded artists from this region.
Read more about the Akunnittinni: A Kinngait Family Portrait—Pitseolak Ashoona | Napachie Pootoogook | Annie Pootoogook exhibition.
Visions and Visionaries
Inaugurating MoCNA’s new Kieve Family Gallery is the exhibition Visions and Visionaries. Drawing from the strength and diversity of the permanent collection of the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, the artworks on view here enable us to see the world through different eyes and highlight the role of visionaries in IAIA’s history who forged new paths that we continue to follow. Collections tell particular stories—in this case the development of Native art in the American Southwest in the 1960s and its evolution into a national movement today. The collection is testament to the continual risk-taking and innovation that has shaped IAIA, and in turn, MoCNA. The exhibition is divided into different “chapters:” Abstraction; Ways of Seeing; Politics and Perception; and Realism and the Documentary Image. These sections serve to frame the works, create new connections and revise established artistic tropes and movements.
Read more about the Visions and Visionaries exhibition.
Download and view the 2016 IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) Market Events Flier.