HOMELANDS
September 16th – November 26th
Guest Curated by:
Robert Martinez (Northern Arapaho) and Bruce Cook (Haida/Arapaho)
Participating Artists: Karen Box, Bruce Cook, Ron Howard, Brent Learned, George Curtis Levi, Robert Martinez, Eugene Ridgley Jr., Jackie Sevier
Featuring Contemporary Indigenous Artists with historical ties to the Colorado Area, HOMELANDS will exhibit their diverse creations bringing authentic tribal voices back to their ancestral territory.
Bruce Cook
Being an artist of complex ethnicity, I am both Haida and Northern Arapaho, this can make creating art a complicated process. The fact that I reside in Wyoming makes my drive to explore and innovate a necessity. The varied species of wood and natural materials that I once used because of their abundance in the Pacific Northwest are now scarce. This scarcity of resources has led to a creative drive which has been vital to my survival as a Haida artist in the high plains desert.
My subject matter is both Haida and Arapaho; both traditional and contemporary. As Native American artists, we are capable of inhabiting both forms simultaneously; I am free to create without the confines of being bound to one or the other.
My favorite mediums are yellow cedar, fresh red alder, and now canvass. Their suppleness, delicacy, strength, and willingness to be transformed in both form and texture make them perfect mediums for exploring Haida art.
Each day brings with it a new desire to practice the forms of those who have come before me and a push to innovate in the forms that are yet to come. This inspiration is my daily spirit to create.
George Curtis Levi
George Curtis Levi is a member of the Southern Cheyenne Tribe of Oklahoma . He is also Southern Arapaho and Oglala Lakota. He was raised in the Western Oklahoma Communities of El Reno, Concho, and Geary.
The art and history of the Cheyenne people motivate him in his art. He is influenced by Cheyenne and Arapaho artists of the past. He specializes in Cheyenne style ledger art, and also acrylic and watercolor paintings. He is also well known for his custom beadwork and parfleche work.
His artwork is well known and can be found in various museums, art exhibits, galleries, and private collections in the United States and around the world.
Robert Martinez
Robert Martinez was born in Wyoming on the Wind River Reservation in the small city of Riverton. He grew up a part of many different cultures as his lineage is Spanish, Mexican, Scotts Irish, French Canadian and Northern Arapaho. He graduated Riverton High School at 17 and through a scholarship, attended the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts specializing in Painting & Drawing and minoring in sculpture, in 3 years and at age 19, becoming the Youngest Native American to graduate from RMCAD at that time.
As he was brought up in the center of the reservation, his native heritage remains a constant inspiration and source of ideas for his work. Living in among the hard working people of the West and experiencing their issues also deeply influence his creations. The past and present often resonate strongly in Wyoming and those historical and contemporary chords echo throughout his work.
Much of Robert’s current work uses the historical imagery, myth’s and stories of the West & Arapaho Culture combined with modern themes to create images that have a statement on the issues of today. Using intense vibrant color and contrasting shades of light and dark, he paints and draws striking forms that are confronting and engages the viewer.
His paintings and drawings have been shown across the Nation and have garnered noted acclaim. He’s been given Wyoming highest award for the arts, the Wyoming Governors Art Award. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Brinton Museum, The Plains Indian Museum at the Cody Center of the West, and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
A strong supporter of Education and of the Arts, Robert devotes time to helping and mentoring emerging artists on his reservation and through out the Nation. He gives back to the community by speaking about art topics, giving workshops, and demonstrates his style to schools, agencies and art groups.
Robert Martinez was born in Wyoming on the Wind River Reservation in the small city of Riverton. He grew up a part of many different cultures as his lineage is Spanish, Mexican, Scotts Irish, French Canadian and Northern Arapaho. He graduated Riverton High School at 17 and through a scholarship, attended the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts specializing in Painting & Drawing and minoring in sculpture, in 3 years and at age 19, becoming the Youngest Native American to graduate from RMCAD at that time.
As he was brought up in the center of the reservation, his native heritage remains a constant inspiration and source of ideas for his work. Living in among the hard working people of the West and experiencing their issues also deeply influence his creations. The past and present often resonate strongly in Wyoming and those historical and contemporary chords echo throughout his work.
Much of Robert’s current work uses the historical imagery, myths and stories of the West & Arapaho Culture combined with modern themes to create images that have a statement on the issues of today. Using intense vibrant color and contrasting shades of light and dark, he paints and draws striking forms that are confronting and engages the Viewer.
His paintings and drawings have been shown across the Nation and have garnered noted acclaim. He’s been given Wyoming highest award for the arts, the Wyoming Governor’s Art Award. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Brinton Museum, The Plains Indian Museum at the Cody Center of the West, and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
A strong supporter of Education and of the Arts, Robert devotes time to helping and mentoring emerging artists on his reservation and throughout the Nation. He gives back to the community by speaking about art topics, giving workshops, and demonstrates his style to schools, agencies and art groups.
Jackie Sevier
As an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, she is proud of her Native American heritage. Jackie (Allen) Sevier was born in Riverton, Wyoming into a very large family of strong independent women. Legends and traditions of her native Wind River Reservation in Wyoming are often subjects for her unique works of art.
Residing in the heart of the Nebraska sand hills near the small community of Seneca, her family encourages her to develop her talent and career at every opportunity. As a former competitor, her husband Jim, a former PRCA saddle bronc rider, their children Chessney and son Jesse, and granddaughter Jymie competing in rodeo is also an important part of her life and is often inspiration.
Continuing to study, Jackie credits “the greats who have not only taught me technique but expression, dedication, and determination. Some of these people have been Benjamin Harjo, JR, King Kuka, and Reynold Brown.
As Jackie’s work becomes recognized, awards and honors are accumulating, winning Best of Division for graphics at the prestigious Santa Fe Indian Market, the Aplan award, the Diedrich award, and the Bonnie Ericksen Award at the Red Cloud Indian Art Show. The National Campaign Office for the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian has commissioned work. More of Jackie’s works can be found in private, corporate, and university collections throughout the United States, Japan, Australia, Germany, South Africa, and Great Britain.
Awards include honors at the Santa Fe Indian Market, Santa Fe, NM; Heard Fair, Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ: Cherokee Art Market, Tulsa, OK; Northern Plains Indian Art Market, Sioux Falls, SD; Red Earth Festival, Oklahoma City, OK; Cahokia Contemporary Indian Art Show, Collinsville, IL; Inter-Tribal Ceremonial, Gallup, NM; Lawrence Indian Art Show, Lawrence, KS; Artesian Arts Festival, Chickasaw Nation, Sulphur, Ok.
Jackie’s works have been included in “Let the Spirit Speak”, Pope VI Institute of the Arts, Washington, DC: “Our Way Continues”, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, The Sioux Indian Museum, Rapid City, SD, Museum of Anthropology, Lawrence, KS; “Influences of our Grandparents”, Oscar Howe Museum, Mitchell, SD; and “Heart Dreams and Legends”, a joint indigenous exhibit that toured the US and Australia. Her works were also included at the Bradford Brinton Memorial Museum, Sheridan, WY: “The Cowboy, Rodeo & WYO Rodeo”, “West of the Mississippi”, “Ladies’ Choice”.
Ron Howard
Hello. My name is Ronald E. Howard, but you can call me Ron. I was born in Riverton, Wyoming on June 28th, 1967. I am a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, a veteran of the US Army, an actor, comedian, teacher, husband and father.
I began selling my work in the year 2000 and I’ve been working hard to improve the quality of my work. I consider each piece I do a learning opportunity, as I try to incorporate something never tried before. My preferred mediums are pencil, charcoal, ink and ballpoint pen. My subject matter varies. I don’t really consider myself a “Native Artist” as much as I am an artist who happens to be Native American; the difference being, a lot of my work isn’t exclusively Native or nature themed. I just do what I enjoy and draw what I feel like drawing. I hope you like what you see.