American Sunrise: Indigenous Art at Crystal Bridges examines the beauty and intricacy of art from Crystal Bridges’ flourishing collection of Indigenous art, including new acquisitions. Guided by three themes, Indigenous Futurism, Place, and Kinship, American Sunrise celebrates the historical and ongoing relationships Indigenous peoples carry between the land; intergenerational artistic expressions; and the resilience of kinship between Indigenous artists and place.
Poet Laureate of the United States Joy Harjo (Muscogee) wrote American Sunrise (2019), the volume of poems that inspired this exhibition’s title. Her words open a dialogue with American history through the lens of Indigenous Nation’s relationships to the land through past, present, and future timelines.
The diverse range of innovative and technically mastered mediums including basketry, beadwork, paintings, photography, and pottery showcases the achievements of more than 30 prominent artists from what is now known as the United States and Canada, spanning 150 years of creativity.
Featured artists include Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe), Bobby “Dues” Wilson (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota), Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Consuelo Jimenez Underwood, Frank Buffalo Hyde (Onondaga, Nez Perce), Jane Osti (Cherokee Nation), Jason Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo), Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians/ Cherokee descent), Jeri Redcorn (Caddo), Jody Naranjo (Santa Clara Pueblo), Jordan Ann Craig (Northern Cheyenne), Kelly Church (Ottawa / Potawatomi), Les Namingha (Hopi-Tewa), Martine Gutierrez, Pop Chalee (Taos Pueblo), Roy Boney (Cherokee Nation), Ryan RedCorn (Osage Nation), Stephen Mopope (Kiowa), Susan Folwell (Santa Clara Pueblo), Teri Greeves (Kiowa), Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo), Will Wilson ( Diné (Navajo)), Yatika Starr Fields (Cherokee Nation, Muscogee Nation, Osage Nation), and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Salish, Kootenai).