An Indigenous Present, a thematic exhibition spanning 100 years of modern and contemporary Indigenous art, includes new commissions and significant works by 15 artists who use strategies of abstraction to represent personal and collective narratives, describe specific and imagined places, and build upon cultural and aesthetic traditions. Co-organized by artist Jeffrey Gibson (member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent), whose work was presented at the Frist in 2023, and independent curator Jenelle Porter, the exhibition offers an expansive consideration of Indigenous art practices highlighting a continuum of elders and emerging makers.
An Indigenous Present draws from Gibson and Porter's 2023 landmark publication of the same title, which, through a collaborative process, brought together work by Native North American artists exploring diverse approaches to concept, form, and medium. Their engagement with artists during the making of the book inspired this exhibition—one that demonstrates the endless variability of abstraction and its capacity to hold multiple forms and histories.
Image: George Longfish. Take Two Aspirins and Call Me In The Morning, You Are On Target, 1984. Acrylic on canvas; 85 x 117 in. Courtesy The Fine Arts Collection, Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, University of California, Davis.
© George Longfish. Photo: Cleber Bonato
