Indigenous artists from North America represent some of the most exciting and engaging work of the 21st century. The exhibition features more than 40 works by 22 contemporary artists working across the United States and Canada in a variety of mediums including Cannupa Hanska Luger, recipient of the inaugural Burke Prize in 2019 through the Museum of Art and Design in New York and the 2020 Creative Capital Award.
Larger Than Memory also features longtime Heard Museum collaborator Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith, who has been exhibited widely both nationally and internationally, and is the recipient of many prestigious awards and grants including the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters Grant and the 2020 US Artists Fellowship. This exhibition also represents the return of renowned multidisciplinary artist Jeffrey Gibson, a 2019 MacArthur Fellow who was featured in the 2019 Whitney Biennial.
“Larger Than Memory comes at a pivotal time in the global contemporary art world,” says David Roche, Heard Museum Dickey Family director and CEO. “The exhibition recognizes and presents artists working at the top of their field across a variety of mediums; artists that are engaging with critical dialogues that touch all of our lives. The Heard is honored to present the work of these creatives and be a leader in conversations regarding representation, identity and the environment.”
The first 20 years of the 21st century have been a dynamic and transformative period for indigenous contemporary art in the United States and Canada. Focusing on artists and works that have been the impetus of this change as well as artists who signify future change, the exhibition seeks to create a platform for new ways of understanding indigenous art.