Artist Statement
Through my art I try to prognosticate aspects of society’s future through ideas of spirituality, communication, and economics. Much of my drive is a need to make sense of changing perceptions of language and culture to deconstruct the rapid de-romanticizing of contemporary life in the recent information era of humanity. This is an effort to establish venerability and ceremony in everyday banalities in order to harmonize the seemingly contrary concepts of economy and spirituality. By illuminating the pitfalls of how, in a very general sense, contemporary culture is passively described as inherently counterproductive I strive to make viewers refocus on what the future truly means. It is the hope of possibilities that will always outweigh the forces that keep people and cultures in a stasis devoid of aspiration.
Much of my current work involves motifs derived from my shared Dena’ina heritage and language which are nearing practical extinction in this time period. I view my creative work as my life’s duty with the goal of proving that cultural preservation as we know it is not possible and recreation of its tangible facets is a futile exercise in endless grief chasing the shadows of the past. On the opposite side I also want to demonstrate that we all possess the miraculous gift of being able to paint the cultures of the future by embracing the raw inspirations and meanings hidden in the stories of our past and the cosmic knowledge of our ancient origins.
My practice includes traditional painting methods, sculptural assemblage, and 3D printing, however my medium of choice is ink and paper as they are materials which universally represent the thin line between the two schools of human visual expression: representational drawings and illustrations, and abstractions in the form of symbols and written language. Symbolically I imagine my body of work to be an infinite written language in which each piece represents a single letter or syllabic phrase that correlates to the personal spirit embedded within.
Much of my current work involves motifs derived from my shared Dena’ina heritage and language which are nearing practical extinction in this time period. I view my creative work as my life’s duty with the goal of proving that cultural preservation as we know it is not possible and recreation of its tangible facets is a futile exercise in endless grief chasing the shadows of the past. On the opposite side I also want to demonstrate that we all possess the miraculous gift of being able to paint the cultures of the future by embracing the raw inspirations and meanings hidden in the stories of our past and the cosmic knowledge of our ancient origins.
My practice includes traditional painting methods, sculptural assemblage, and 3D printing, however my medium of choice is ink and paper as they are materials which universally represent the thin line between the two schools of human visual expression: representational drawings and illustrations, and abstractions in the form of symbols and written language. Symbolically I imagine my body of work to be an infinite written language in which each piece represents a single letter or syllabic phrase that correlates to the personal spirit embedded within.
Biography
I'm a Nichił and American artist currently living in my big, cold, empty home state of Alaska, specifically in the national territory of my culture, the Ninilchik Tribe. On the spectrum of art vs. design my work heavily resides in the art side, however I am constantly intrigued by the applications of principles derived from art in design projects and ethics. Currently I am the President of the Bunnell Street Arts Center in Homer and the Planning Director of my tribe's future cultural institution, the Q'eschił Heritage Center.
I was born in Homer, Alaska, and have always been deeply engaged with fine arts since my earliest memories at home. At age 13 I began to further engage in fine arts by starting Rennaissance-era art history study independently, spending my free time working on a series of abstractions using acrylic paint and found materials, and creating my own style of comic illustration. While I have not had formal studio training my education has always revolved around the arts in some level. While attending Capilano University in Vancouver, Canada, I became further interested in the arts while studying anthropology and language and discovering the unique but often uncommonly known connections between art movements and civil developments. Much of my formative inspiration came from the artists and institutions in the Vancouver area, especially from the post-modernist movement and those engaged in the beginning of the "synthesis age" that attempt to evoke social solutions by hybridizing our glut of knowledge and materials harvested during the information age. In 2010 I moved back to Alaska to assume an administrative position with my Dena'ina culture tribe's indigenous government and social services offices. During my time there I became involved with the arts further, creating and administering social arts initiatives and events in rural areas of the Kenai Peninsula region of Alaska. I also participated in several indigenous cultural projects and much of the experience gained continues to be reflected in my current work. In early 2014 I left my administrative position and began my work as an independent artist and designer, and today I am continuing to be happily working on my various projects and series. |
Exhibits, Installations, and Honors2022: Tuyanitun: Tuggeht
Installation Bishop's Beach, Homer, Alaska 2021: Our Town Award for Tuyanitun: Tuggeht National Endowment for the Arts Washington, District of Columbia 2021: The Bruce Temporary Installation for Janen festival Niqnalchintnu, Nichił 2021: Aligned by the Sun Collaboration video installation by ghost of a dream collective, et al. Art Basel 2021 Basel, Switzerland 2019: Apollo's Siheyuan Exhibit, December 2019 Bunnell Street Arts Center Homer, Alaska 2019: Freed Formats: The Book Reconsidered Curated invitational exhibit March - October 2019 Various Locations in Connecticut, New York. 2019: Qena Sint'isis Exhibit, January 2019 Leah J. Peterson Gallery at Alaska Pacific University Anchorage, Alaska 2018: Tuggeht Janju Tets' (Created 2017) Installation Homer Public Library Homer, Alaska 2017: Qena Sint'isis Exhibit, April & May 2017 Pratt Museum Homer, Alaska 2016: Q'es Krieyshon Installation Ninilchik Traditional Council Ninilchik, Alaska 2015: Judge's Choice Award Yaletown (2014, ink on paper) April 2015 - 2015 Biannual Judged Show Kenai Fine Arts Center, Kenai, Alaska 2015: Silver Hand Artist Alaska State Council on the Arts PressOrientation
Alaska Humanities Forum Magazine, Summer 2023 Tuyanitun: Tuggeht Land Acknowledgement Celebration Homer News, June 29, 2023 New Monumental Sculpture Shows Dena'ina Wayfinding Peninsula Clarion, June 24, 2021 Art, Culture Collide at Argent Kvasnikoff Exhibit Opening Homer News, December 12, 2019 Cook Inlet Region, Inc. - Raven's Circle Shareholder Spotlight, April 2017 Pratt Artist Takes New Look at Language Homer News, April 27, 2017 |