Dyani White Hawk, Untitled (All the Colors), 2020, acrylic, bugle beads, thread and synthetic sinew on canvas, Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Gift of the Barton P. and Mary D. Cohen Charitable Trust.
June 2 – December 21
Kansas Focus Gallery
Artist Talk with Dyani White Hawk
September 28 | 6 p.m.
Hudson Auditorium
Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County of Community College
The exhibition title, derived from text seen in My Country, ‘tis of Thee by Tom Jones, references patriotism and endurance. Jones’ work presents historical images from popular culture through an Indigenous artistic lens, highlighting Native peoples’ involvement in the US military. In the spirit of Jones’ work, this exhibition explores the representational power of color. Featured in the gallery is a wide spectrum, from the bright rainbow hues of a crayon box to the sepia tones of photographs and neutral tones of natural materials such as hide and wood. These works exemplify the richness and beauty of diversity and our shared history.
The inheritance of culture that each of the artists brings into their practice is evident in the materials, techniques and subject matter. There is also a subtext of counterculture in many of the works, which situates them firmly in the contemporary. Upon entry, we are greeted by the prismatic shimmering beads in Dyani White Hawk’s Untitled (All the Colors). Set against a muted white and off-white striping, these elements create a mass of color and volume that gives depth to abstraction.
Living Native artists created all the artworks in this exhibition, which were later purchased by the Nerman Museum—often directly from the artist—with support from the Barton P. and Mary D. Cohen Art Acquisition Endowment and other generous donors.
Dyani White Hawk (Sičáŋǧu Lakota) is a visual artist and independent curator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She will be at the Nerman Museum for a visiting artist talk on Sept. 28 at 6 p.m., at the Hudson Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public and will also be available via livestream. For more information, go to nermanmuseum.org/calendar.
White Hawk earned an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2011) and a BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico (2008). She served as Gallery Director and Curator for the All My Relations Gallery in Minneapolis from 2011 to 2015.
Recent awards include 2021 Anonymous Was a Woman Award and Academy of Arts and Letters Award, 2021. She has participated in residencies in Australia, Russia and Germany. Her work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art NYC, Whitney Museum of American Art, Walker Art Center, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, among other public and private collections.
This exhibition will be temporarily closed from Sep. 4-15 for the Nerman Museum’s WILD LIFE! Celebration. Learn more at nermanmuseum.org/WildLife2023.
