Local Art Seen: Rabbett Before Horses Strickland at AICHO

Friday evening was an opening reception for a impressive two-man show featuring work by Ojibwe Birchbark & Quillwork Artist Pat Kruse and Rabbett Before Horses Strickland. Both artists were present with a strong turnout from the community including friends and fans of their work. This blog post will feature Strickland's work with Pat Krise in the near future.

Rabbett Strickland is a Native American painter of the Red Cliff and Bad River bands of Lake Superior Ojibwe near Bayfield. He was born in San Francisco, but in his early twenties came to the Midwest, the origin of his people. Over the course of many years he's produced a striking body of images, many quite massive in scale.

His work has been influenced by European Renaissance and Baroque masters, including Botticelli, Michelangelo, Titian, Velasquez, Rubens and Leonardo, as well as by Ojibwe mythology. He has been featured in the American Indian Review, San Francisco Chronicle, Santa Fe Trend Magazine, Tea Party Magazine, and in the TV series Native Report.

"Getting Nibi"

The central character in his paintings is Nanabozho, the mythological Ojibwe archetype trickster figure and culture hero.  Strickland tells stories through the various images of Nanabozho, lamenting the loss of the wolf, creating butterflies or doing the Shut Eye Dance. One of his most impressive works, not on display here, is a 9' x 18' painting now in the possession of the Tweed titled "The Right to Consciousness."

Here are some images from Friday night at AICHO. Go see this show in person if able. Trepanier Hall is at 202 West Second Street, the former YWCA.

"Getting Nibi" (detail)

* * * *

"Young Nanbozho"

* * * *

* * * *

"Sudden Gust of Wind"

* * * *

"Nanabozho Dances with the Crane"

Related Links
Konnie LeMay story in Indian Country Today.
Collection of Rabbett Strrickland images on Pinterest.
You can also follow the artist on Facebook here.

Local Art Scene: JNG's Sweep Is a Survey of Contemporary Painting

"Nanabazhoo with Butterflies"

One of the cool features of the new Joseph Nease Gallery (JNG) here in Duluth is the ability to reconfigure the gallery space by rolling some of the walls into new locations. The opening reception for Sweep presents the advantage of this feature, enabling the viewer's line of sight to take in compositions from angles that reveal other relationships and contrasts.

The JNG has 29 paintings on display from more than 20 artists representing a wide range of styles.  Some of the artists will be familiar to local gallery hoppers -- Leah Yellowbird, Kirsten Aune, Adam McCauley -- and others less so, such as Marcus Cain, another artist with Joe Nease/Kansas City connections. There is a lot to see here, some of which has obtained national recognition.

I found a number of pieces to be exceptionally striking and worthy of more than just a passing glimpse. One of these is Rabbett Strickland's "Nanabazhoo with Butterflies."

A much larger, more complex painting from this Native artist has been on display at the Tweed in recent years. This beautifully painted piece is an excellent example of the mystical power of Strickland's sensitive work.

Detail from "Nanabazhoo with Butterflies."

Marcus Cain, who came to town for the opening, has four pieces on display here as a result of a previous relationship with the Neases in Kansas City. Cain's approach to painting (right) focuses more on process as opposed to image reproduction. Rather than using brushes he makes his painting using the marking-making tools ceramic artists use. He calls it meditative mark-making, but if you get up close and engage the pieces, they have a tendency to cause eyes to un-focus because there is no object or point of reference for the eyes.

Whereas one is initially drawn to the pieces by their colors and the 3-D impression of corrugation and depth, it's possible to soon experience the kind of headache one gets from overmuch exposure to those Magic Eye pictures which encourage you to allow eye-focus to relax.  

* * * *
One of my favorite artists in the region has to be Leah Yellowbird. Her "Rolling in the Deep" grabs you in part due to the Escheresque underwater fish pattern in the background, almost like a wallpaper pattern. Her acrylic paintings tediously reproduce the sensation of Native American bead-work on canvas. The vibrant colors, lively compositions and unexpected sterling silver attachment on this piece all conspire to produce a magical image that defies easy categorization.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

"Rolling in the Deep" (detail) -- Leah Yellowbird

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Here are some additional pieces you will see if you're able to go.

Adam McCauley's "Nosun"

"Reddy"-- one of three gummy candies painted by Kay Kurt.

For more information on the Joseph Nease Gallery, 

including its hours, visit josephneasegallery.com/

Local Art Seen: MAAMAWI @ the AICHO (Part 2)

"Nanabozhoo and the Butterfly" -- Rabbett Strickland

As promised yesterday, here are some additional glimpses of Friday evening's exhibition at the AICHO. The variety, the craftsmanship, the exquisite detail, the themes all woven together create an impression that we have in our midst a rare gift. I am referring here to the artists themselves, who continue to pour themselves out, many of them sacrificially.  Yes, there are art communities everywhere, but this one here in the Northland has its own unique fingerprints. We should not take for granted what is happening here.

If you've ever taken photos of the Grand Canyon and returned home afterward only to discover that the photos fell significantly short of capturing the vastness of that fabulous vista... well, that's most assuredly how I feel about the images here. They provide a glimpse of the works displayed, but fall short of producing the emotional weight of the works themselves. Stand before a painting by Rabbett Strickland or  Leah Yellowbird and you're drawn in.

"Winona and Nanbozhoo" -- Rabbett Strickland

"Preserving Our Way of Life" -- Ivy Vainio

"Resistance" -- Steve Premo

"Namepin in April" -- Tashia Hart

 

"Zigwan Binesi--Spring Thunderbird" -- Michelle Defoe

"Protect Water" -- Ellen Sandbeck

"Still Life with Blueberry Butter-Weasel" -- Jonathan Thunder

Meantime, if at all able, try to visit the AICHO Gift Shop and purchase a 2018 calendar featuring the art of these local artists.  Support the community. You'll also find a range of other practical items in addition to wall art.. and maybe get inspired to do more with your own creative self as well. 

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Get into it.