An Indigenous Present
November 07, 2026 - February 14, 2027
An Indigenous Present features significant groupings of works by fifteen artists who use strategies of abstraction to represent personal and collective narratives, describe specific and imagined places, and build upon cultural and aesthetic traditions. Co-curated by artist Jeffrey Gibson (member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent) and independent curator Jenelle Porter, this exhibition emerges from their 2023 2023 landmark publication of the same name. Offering an expansive consideration of Indigenous art practices that highlights a continuum of elders and emerging makers, the exhibition demonstrates the endless variability of abstraction and its capacity to hold multiple forms and histories.
Artist List
Teresa Baker (Mandan/Hidatsa; born 1985 in Watford City, ND)
Raven Chacon (Diné; born 1977 in Fort Defiance, Navajo Nation)
Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation; born 1984 in Bellingham, WA)
Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Iñupiaq/Athabascan; born 1969 in Bethel, AK)
Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill (Cree and Métis; born 1979 in Comox, British Columbia)
George Longfish (Seneca and Tuscarora; born 1942 in Ohsweken, Ontario)
Dakota Mace (Diné; born 1991 in Albuquerque, NM)
Kimowan Metchewais (Cree; born 1963 in Oxbow, Saskatchewan; died 2011, St. Paul, Alberta)
Caroline Monnet (Anishinaabe [Algonquin] and French; born 1985 in Ottawa, Ontario)
George Morrison (Ojibwe; born 1919 in Chippewa City, MN; died 2000, Red Rock, MN)
Audie Murray (Cree and Métis; born 1993 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation; born 1940 in St. Ignatius Mission, Flathead Reservation, MT; died 2025, Corrales, NM)
Mary Sully (Susan Mabel Deloria) (Yankton Dakota; born 1896 in Standing Rock Reservation, ND; died 1963, Omaha, NE)
Anna Tsouhlarakis (Navajo/Creek/Greek; born 1977 in Lawrence, KS)
Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee and Anglo; born 1935 in Syracuse, NY)
An Indigenous Present is organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. The exhibition is curated by Jeffrey Gibson and Jenelle Porter, Guest Curators. The Frye Art Museum's presentation is organized by Georgia Erger, Curator, with Alexis L. Silva, Curatorial Assistant.
Lead support provided by Teiger Foundation.
Additional generous support provided by the Raynier Institute & Foundation and Frye members. Media sponsorship provided by The Seattle Times.
Our work is supported, in part, by an award from 4Culture.
Teresa Baker, Knife River, 2024. Yarn, buckskin, artificial sinew, and willow on AstroTurf. 63 x 107 in. © Teresa Baker. Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Acquired through the generosity of the Acquisitions Circle. Courtesy the artist and Broadway Gallery, New York. Photo: Ruben Diaz
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. Cree Prayer Series #1, 1978. Acrylic and pastel on paper. 22 x 15 in. © Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. Courtesy of the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York. Photo: ShootART/Christopher Burke Studios
Kimowan Metchewais. Chief’s Blanket, 2002. Ink and adhesive tape on paper. 46 7/8 x 70 in. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (269521.000). Photo: NMAI photo services
George Morrison. Three Surrealist Forms, Automatic, 1984. Color pencil, ink, wash on paper. 17 × 15 in. © George Morrison Estate. Courtesy of the George Morrison Estate and Bockley Gallery, Minneapolis
George Longfish. Take Two Aspirins and Call Me in the Morning, You Are on Target, 1984. Acrylic on canvas. 85 x 117 in. © George Longfish. Courtesy of The Fine Arts Collection, Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, University of California, Davis. Photo: Cleber Bonato