Items Similar to Ancestral Acumen
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8
Nicholas GalaninAncestral Acumen2019
2019
About the Item
Nicholas Galanin’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Art Mur combines sculptural works, multimedia installation and photographic prints from 2012-2019. A sharp observer of a broadly assessed contemporary culture, Galanin (b. 1979, Sitka, Alaska) works around themes of resistance, the land, and a history of survival through language, resilience and creation. Through his multidisciplinary practice, the artist at once sheds light on the critical issues that divide nations and communities, and on the human practices that bind them.
Stemming from a long line of artists, Galanin, who is of Tlingit-Unangax̂ descent, was trained in the traditional techniques and imagery of Tlingit and Northwest Coast art, as well as in Western contemporary art and aesthetics. Certain works serve to testify that, just as weapons are technologies designed with the aim of enabling survival, so tools, in craft and cultural production, are fundamental to the preservation of culture. From the hatchets referring to territorial destruction (Unceded, Monument of a Nation, both 2018) to replica carvings splintered apart (Unceremonial Dance Mask, 2017), Galanin both honours his heritage and explores new perspectives that reach out onto questions of land, (self-)identity and (self-)portrayal.
The artist engages with the political, social and cultural implications of contemporary identity in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous contexts, for instance critically questioning classifications of imposed (in-, sub)humanity. “Stereotypes and romanticization of Indigenous people are rooted in centuries-old justifications for genocide which have been continued via blood quantum and ethnicity based on percentage,” Galanin wrote in 2018. “We are the only community in the United States whose blood percentage is monitored to determine if we are registered with the Bureau of Indian Affairs by a number.” Galanin’s self-portrait from 2019, a diptych of a torn photograph in which one side of his face is swollen and bruised, plainly addresses the issue of blood quantum and its associated violence, after the artist James Luna’s half-portraits.
As a stark contrast to such dehumanizing tactics, Galanin’s work speaks of broad human practices, like touch and connection through language (Survival Exercises, 2017). The video work, showing a loop of layered imagery of embracing bodies, suggests that “physical, emotional and cultural survival” can be borne through human contact, intimacy and, broadly speaking, family and community, particularly following violence. Galanin tells stories of creation, intrinsically linked to the land and to communities. As the critic Jerry Saltz observed on one of Galanin’s pieces in the 2019 Whitney Biennale, it “nails the malign aberrations of what’s happening with whiteness in America as well as what all information turns into right now, as the ice near Galanin’s Alaska melts.” The final thought – now that the ice near Alaska’s shores has melted away completely – resonates through Galanin’s works like a bell that the communities on the front line of the climate crisis have heard tolling, and been warning of, for generations.
- Creator:Nicholas Galanin (1979, American)
- Creation Year:2019
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Montreal, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4765015862
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 1996
1stDibs seller since 2014
96 sales on 1stDibs
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Montreal, Canada
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Ancestral AcumenBy Nicholas GalaninLocated in Montreal, QuebecNicholas Galanin’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Art Mur combines sculptural works, multimedia installation and photographic prints from 2012-2019. A sharp observer of a broadly a...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsMonotype
- Ancestral AcumenBy Nicholas GalaninLocated in Montreal, QuebecNicholas Galanin’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Art Mur combines sculptural works, multimedia installation and photographic prints from 2012-2019. A sharp observer of a broadly a...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsMonotype
- Ancestral AcumenBy Nicholas GalaninLocated in Montreal, QuebecNicholas Galanin’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Art Mur combines sculptural works, multimedia installation and photographic prints from 2012-2019. A sharp observer of a broadly a...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsMonotype
- Corona lifeLocated in Montreal, QuebecBuilding on a series of exhibitions titled Panorama of the Anthropocene which examined the ecological impact of human activity through an array of paintings, digital prints and video...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsCanvas, Digital
- Corona DeathLocated in Montreal, QuebecBuilding on a series of exhibitions titled Panorama of the Anthropocene which examined the ecological impact of human activity through an array of paintings, digital prints and video...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsDigital, Canvas
- Constructive InstabilityBy Lucas AguirreLocated in Montreal, QuebecDigital printing on Tyvek Lucas Aguirre is a painter who has transitioned his art practice into the realm of VR and digital art. His paintings and drawi...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsDigital
You May Also Like
- She Loves Luna and Sombra monotype by Melanie Yazzie, Navajo, dog, girlBy Melanie YazzieLocated in Santa Fe, NMShe Loves Luna and Sombra monotype by Melanie Yazzie, Navajo, dog, girlCategory
Early 2000s Contemporary Animal Prints
MaterialsMonotype
- "Travels of Fortune" IVBy Enrique ChagoyaLocated in Lyons, COColor monotype based on the edition print of "Travels of Fortune": The artist describes this work as follows: “I wanted to focus on the positive cultural heritage these refugees bri...Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsMonotype
- MercadoBy Rafael FerrerLocated in Lyons, COColor monotype. Rafael Ferrer depicts the intense life of the Caribbean in his paintings and prints. With hot colors, deep shadows and mysterious relationships among his figures, Fe...Category
1990s Contemporary More Prints
MaterialsMonotype
- Haiti IIBy Rafael FerrerLocated in Lyons, COColor monotype. Rafael Ferrer depicts the intense life of the Caribbean in his paintings and prints. With hot colors, deep shadows and mysterious relationships among his figures, Fe...Category
1990s Contemporary More Prints
MaterialsMonotype
- Cabin I: modernist, urban architectural monoprint & collage in gray, blue, blackLocated in Bryn Mawr, PA"Cabin I" is a Bauhaus-inspired monotype and collage (work on paper) reminiscent of the aesthetic of Le Corbusier. It is part of Bouton’s "Habitat and Urban Matter" series, which is inspired by the straight lines of modernist architecture and hard-edged geometrical forms of the urban environment. Bouton, a French printmaker from Paris who has also lived in London, Myanmar, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Turkey, creates work that responds to her experiences during her travels and the cultures she encountered. Since settling in the Philadelphia area, she has been inspired by the urbanism of the city, whether a sleek, new apartment block, an abandoned warehouse, or a half-demolished home. Her latest works are interpretations of these buildings, with both broad street views and focused details from single structures –- the pattern of the skyline, a patchwork of broken windows, an industrial color palette. She is drawn to the history of the spaces and lives lived within these buildings, as well as their intrinsic beauty of the structures, whether that beauty emerges from design or degradation, or some combination of the two. Signed and dated. Bouton is a French artist living and working in the Philadelphia area whose boundary-pushing printmaking and paper works exhibit influence from living and working in international cities across the globe. Bouton earned her BFA in Painting and Printmaking and her MFA in Arts and Textile Design from the prestigious ESSAA Duperré in Paris, France. Since leaving Paris 15 years ago, Bouton has lived and exhibited her work internationally in Paris (France), London (UK), Philadelphia (USA), Rangoon (Burma/Myanmar), Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Dakar (Senegal) and Istanbul (Turkey). She has presented solo exhibitions at the Biennale de l’Art Africain...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsInk, Archival Paper, Monoprint, Monotype
- Monotint -- Black Hood with TailBy George SimmonsLocated in Troy, NYThis is an ink and carbon monotype, entitled "Black Hood with Tail." The hooded figure shown appears to have very large eyes, but his face is hidden from...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsInk, Monotype
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Dance Mask
Ice Link
Indigenous Carvings
Indigenous Mask
Northwest Mask
Alaska Carvings
Tlingit Art
Le Mans Retro Poster
Louis Gerard
Map Of Italy Vintage
Marc Chagall Bella
Mid Century African American Portrait
Mid Century Charcoal And Ink
Northern Song
Notre Dame Lithograph
Nude Female Wall Hanging
Peter Max 1999
Pierre Vincent