Aldrich Museum Exhibition

To Consider Native American-Influenced Contemporary Art

RIDGEFIELD — With ten artists, two full cars, a museum within a museum, a community based project that involves sewing, stories, philanthropy and 800 blankets, and “a truly fascinating theme,” says public relations manager Alison Pratt, The Aldrich Museum expects its next major exhibition to be a blockbuster.

In the first decade of the 21st Century, census figures attest that more and more Americans are identifying themselves as Native American. With the populace claiming Native ancestry growing three times as fast as the population as a whole, Native people are one of the fastest-growing minority groups in the United States.

Recognizing its location in an area steeped in Native lore, The Aldrich Contemporary is pleased to announce the exhibition “No Reservations: Native American History and Culture in Contemporary Art,” which will be on view from August 23 until February 25, 2007. The exhibition reception will be on Sunday, October 15.

Curated by Aldrich exhibitions director Richard Klein and funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, and LEF Foundation, the large-scale multi-artist exhibition looks at artists whose work deals with both the deep cultural legacies and complex histories of Native peoples in the United States. The project challenges preconceived ideas of what form Native-influenced work can take.

The ten artists in the exhibition are Matthew Buckingham, Lewis deSoto, Peter Edlund, Nicholas Galanin, Jeffrey Gibson, Rigo 23, Duane Slick, Marie Watt, Yoram Wolberger, and Edie Winograde – all members of a generation that has come of age since the initial Native Rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Their work acknowledges the past, while integrating the influences of the modern world and global culture. Much of the work being considered does not look “Indian,” but instead incorporates Native content in surprising and innovative ways that defy easy categorization.

Significantly, the exhibition includes work by both Native and non-Native artists, but will present only artists who engage the larger contemporary art world, as opposed to those attempting to maintain strict Native artistic traditions. “No Reservations” is based on the premise that the influence of Native culture and history is pervasive and has acted as inspiration for a diverse group of artists, resulting in work that explores the topic from multiple vantage points.

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, at 258 Main Street in Ridgefield, can be reached by calling 203-438-4519.