Material Abstractions includes the work of twenty-four artists. The history of abstraction has typically focused on a sequential progression of heroic individuals in Western art “discovering” abstract art in the early 20th century. By contrast, Material Abstractions acknowledges the global and diverse traditions of abstract art, many of which predate Western developments.
This show intentionally acknowledges the plural traditions of abstraction, many of which predate Western developments. Several Indigenous cultures, for example, have integrated abstract visual forms onto objects used in everyday life as well as in art, craft, and ceremony. These traditions continue to inspire Native American artists working today who are included in the exhibition. In referring to his work Fractured Light, artist Steven J. Yazzie (Diné/Pueblo of Laguna) describes how he draws from “indigenous art forms that incorporate abstraction to convey spiritual concepts, cosmologies, and connections to the land.”
