Bruce Hartman (photo by Bret Gustafson)
In January, Bruce Hartman, former executive director of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art and a noted expert on Native American art, co-curated an exhibition by more than 60 contemporary Native American artists at Phillips auction house Park Avenue headquarters in New York City. Dine artist Tony Abeyta and gallerist James Trotta-Bono joined Hartman as co-curators of the selling exhibition.
“James, Tony and I drew upon many decades of seeking, studying and collecting Native American art to organize such an expansive exhibition, featuring numerous tribal affiliations, modes of expression and artistic mediums,” Hartman said.
“With over 120 extraordinary works of contemporary Native American art, ‘New Terrains’ was a sensation in New York,” he added. “Phillips stated that the opening reception’s attendance was the largest they’ve ever had.”
“This groundswell of visibility has helped raise interest among museums and collectors,” Karen K. Ho noted in a recent article on “New Terrains” in ARTnews. An article in Barron’s also noted the importance of the exposure for both the artists and the market for their work.
Hartman retired as executive director of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in 2021. While he was with the Nerman the museum acquired approximately 350 works of contemporary art by Indigenous artists. It was this collection that sparked the interest of the auction house’s Scott Nussbaum, Phillips deputy chairman, Americas.
“Sensitive custodianship is a privileged role within the art market. It is our pleasure to present seminal artworks by some of the most important figures in Native American art since 1950,” said Trott-Bono in the exhibition announcement. “‘New Terrains’ is an exhibition of scale, discernment and depth. It is an exhibition that celebrates the florescence of contemporary Native American art.”
The exhibition, which includes both established and emerging artists, was described as exploring “the influences of modernism, post-war and pop influences,” according to the Phillips website.
“During my 37-year career, it has been most exciting and gratifying to witness the expanding emphasis on artist diversity in museum collections and exhibitions,” Hartman said. “The canon of American art history is being rewritten to include artists of all ethnicities, genders, etc. It is a movement long overdue.”
“Our hope is to further public and collector appreciation of the extraordinary achievements of contemporary Native American artists,” he added.
“This exhibition remarks upon the journey of artists whose contributions were pivotal and helped change the idea of what Native American art is — and what it can be,” said Abeyta. “Each artist — from diverse tribes throughout this country — expresses the unique aspects of their ancestral origins, myths and traumas. Theirs is art of the first people, delayed in its ascent to the mainstream art world, now arrived . . . Our time of inclusion and our hour of personal storytelling is now.” “New Terrains: Contemporary Native American Art” was on view from Jan. 5 to 23.
