Items Similar to Ancestral Acumen
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8
Nicholas GalaninAncestral Acumen2019
2019
About the Item
Nicholas Galanin’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Art Mur combines sculptural works, multimedia installation and photographic prints from 2012-2019. A sharp observer of a broadly assessed contemporary culture, Galanin (b. 1979, Sitka, Alaska) works around themes of resistance, the land, and a history of survival through language, resilience and creation. Through his multidisciplinary practice, the artist at once sheds light on the critical issues that divide nations and communities, and on the human practices that bind them.
Stemming from a long line of artists, Galanin, who is of Tlingit-Unangax̂ descent, was trained in the traditional techniques and imagery of Tlingit and Northwest Coast art, as well as in Western contemporary art and aesthetics. Certain works serve to testify that, just as weapons are technologies designed with the aim of enabling survival, so tools, in craft and cultural production, are fundamental to the preservation of culture. From the hatchets referring to territorial destruction (Unceded, Monument of a Nation, both 2018) to replica carvings splintered apart (Unceremonial Dance Mask, 2017), Galanin both honours his heritage and explores new perspectives that reach out onto questions of land, (self-)identity and (self-)portrayal.
The artist engages with the political, social and cultural implications of contemporary identity in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous contexts, for instance critically questioning classifications of imposed (in-, sub)humanity. “Stereotypes and romanticization of Indigenous people are rooted in centuries-old justifications for genocide which have been continued via blood quantum and ethnicity based on percentage,” Galanin wrote in 2018. “We are the only community in the United States whose blood percentage is monitored to determine if we are registered with the Bureau of Indian Affairs by a number.” Galanin’s self-portrait from 2019, a diptych of a torn photograph in which one side of his face is swollen and bruised, plainly addresses the issue of blood quantum and its associated violence, after the artist James Luna’s half-portraits.
As a stark contrast to such dehumanizing tactics, Galanin’s work speaks of broad human practices, like touch and connection through language (Survival Exercises, 2017). The video work, showing a loop of layered imagery of embracing bodies, suggests that “physical, emotional and cultural survival” can be borne through human contact, intimacy and, broadly speaking, family and community, particularly following violence. Galanin tells stories of creation, intrinsically linked to the land and to communities. As the critic Jerry Saltz observed on one of Galanin’s pieces in the 2019 Whitney Biennale, it “nails the malign aberrations of what’s happening with whiteness in America as well as what all information turns into right now, as the ice near Galanin’s Alaska melts.” The final thought – now that the ice near Alaska’s shores has melted away completely – resonates through Galanin’s works like a bell that the communities on the front line of the climate crisis have heard tolling, and been warning of, for generations.
- Creator:Nicholas Galanin (1979, American)
- Creation Year:2019
- Dimensions:Height: 22 in (55.88 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Montreal, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4765015822
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 1996
1stDibs seller since 2014
96 sales on 1stDibs
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Montreal, Canada
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Ancestral AcumenBy Nicholas GalaninLocated in Montreal, QuebecNicholas Galanin’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Art Mur combines sculptural works, multimedia installation and photographic prints from 2012-2019. A sharp observer of a broadly a...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsMonotype
- Ancestral AcumenBy Nicholas GalaninLocated in Montreal, QuebecNicholas Galanin’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Art Mur combines sculptural works, multimedia installation and photographic prints from 2012-2019. A sharp observer of a broadly a...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsMonotype
- Ancestral AcumenBy Nicholas GalaninLocated in Montreal, QuebecNicholas Galanin’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Art Mur combines sculptural works, multimedia installation and photographic prints from 2012-2019. A sharp observer of a broadly a...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsMonotype
- Corona lifeLocated in Montreal, QuebecBuilding on a series of exhibitions titled Panorama of the Anthropocene which examined the ecological impact of human activity through an array of paintings, digital prints and video...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsCanvas, Digital
- Corona DeathLocated in Montreal, QuebecBuilding on a series of exhibitions titled Panorama of the Anthropocene which examined the ecological impact of human activity through an array of paintings, digital prints and video...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsDigital, Canvas
- Constructive InstabilityBy Lucas AguirreLocated in Montreal, QuebecDigital printing on Tyvek Lucas Aguirre is a painter who has transitioned his art practice into the realm of VR and digital art. His paintings and drawi...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsDigital
You May Also Like
- Candlestick - Contemporary Figurative Monotype Print, Warm tones, Still lifeBy Siergiej TimochowLocated in Warsaw, PLSiergiej Timochow, a Belorussian artist, born in 1960. He studied at an art school in Minsk in 1979 before continuing to study at the Fine Arts Academy in Belarus. His acrylic and ...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsCardboard, Monotype
- Nude - XXI Century, Contemporary Figurative Monotype Print, Blue & greyBy Siergiej TimochowLocated in Warsaw, PLSiergiej Timochow, a Belorussian artist, born in 1960. He studied at an art school in Minsk in 1979 before continuing to study at the Fine Arts Academy in Belarus. His acrylic and ...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsMonoprint, Monotype, Cardboard
- Loneliness 1 - Handmade Linocut and Monotype Techniq, Limited Edition 3/5By Aneta Szoltis-MencinaLocated in Salzburg, ATThe artwork will be sent unframed Linocut and Monotype print „Loneliness 1 ” 2021 Limited edition, print unique number 3/5 Paper Fabriano Rosaspina 220 g Paper size 15,75x19,69 inch...Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsPaper, Linocut, Monotype
- Loneliness 2 - Handmade Linocut and Monotype Techniq, Limited Edition 1/5By Aneta Szoltis-MencinaLocated in Salzburg, ATThe artwork will be sent unframed Linocut and Monotype print „Loneliness 2 ” 2021 Limited edition, print unique number 1/5 Paper Fabriano Rosaspina 220 g Paper size 15,75x19,69 inch...Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsPaper, Linocut, Monotype
- Soothig The Soul - Handmade Linocut-Monotype Limited Edition Print Unique 4/8By Aneta Szoltis-MencinaLocated in Salzburg, ATThe artwork will be sent unframed Linocut/monotype print „Soothig the soul” 2022 Linocut and monotype print technique Art print from 9 matrices Limited edition, print unique number ...Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsPaper, Linocut, Monotype
- Harbinger - Handmade Linocut-Monotype Limited Edition Print Unique 3/5By Aneta Szoltis-MencinaLocated in Salzburg, ATThe artwork will be sent unframed Linocut/monotype print „Harbinger” 2022 Linocut and monotype print technique Art print from 11 matrices Limited edition, print unique number 3/5 Pa...Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsPaper, Linocut, Monotype
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Dance Mask
American Indian Figurative Prints
Tool Shed
Ice Tools Used
Northwest Indian Art
Indigenous Carvings
Indigenous Mask
Indian American Masks
Ethnic Mask
Northwest Coast Indians
Tlingit Art
Chanel 95a
Lion Paintings And Prints
Statue Engraving
Woman With Green Hair
Framed Retro Bird Prints
Retro Future Glasses
Reclining Nude Female