An Indigenous Present
November 07, 2026 - February 14, 2027
An Indigenous Present celebrates an increasingly visible and expanding field of Indigenous contemporary art. 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 landmark publication of the same name. Drawing upon the co-curators’ research and the book’s broad range of concepts and forms, the exhibition focuses on the development of abstraction among a group of artists who utilize its multivalent modes to consolidate Indigenous concepts, make experimental process- and materials-based objects, and innovate formal specificity alongside community and custom.
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.
Seasonal support provided by 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