Multidisciplinary Artist Nicholas Galanin, Is Using His Cultural Landscape And Traditions To Alter The Art World Like Never Before.
The sculptures, paintings, textiles, and installations in the exhibition, at Peter Blum Gallery on the Lower East Side focus on Nicholas Galanin’s standing as a Tlingit and Unangax̂ artist exploring Indigenous identity and various conceptions and misconceptions surrounding it.
Working with Peter Blum Gallery, the team saw something exquisite within his inspiring cultural pieces.
“We came upon the work of Nicholas Galanin and were immediately struck and excited by his insightful and intelligent art.” – David Blum, Director of Peter Blum Gallery.
The gallery located on Grand Street New York is pleased to present a second-time solo exhibition of newly awe-inspiring work by Nicholas Galanin entitled, It Flows Through.
Indigenous people have retained social, cultural, economic and political characteristics distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. For years, the people of our earth’s native beginnings have sought recognition of their identities, way of life, and right to traditional lands, territories and natural resources. Yet, throughout history, their rights have consistently been violated.
Oral traditions retain the history of Indigenous People bypassing cultural information from one generation to the next. But knowledge and power act as genetic traits that pour through them like the blood from their beating hearts.
trimmed polar bear rug and wood. Courtesy of Peter Blum Gallery.
Their entire evolution is part of who they are.
Yéil Ya-Tseen, Nicholas Galanin is a Tlingit/Unangax̂ multi-disciplinary artist and musician from Sitka, Alaska. His work often explores a dialogue of change and identity between Native and non-Native communities but engages contemporary culture from his perspective, rooted in connection to the land.
The young contemporary Indigenous artist is greatly admired by many as his stand-out sculptures and multimedia installations, including monotypes and prints, are steeped in self-awareness and reflection.
Galanin challenges institutionalised authority and those who subscribe to it with persistence and the knowledge that “those institutions only rest on stone foundations.”
It Flows Through consists of several extraordinary world pieces. From ‘White Flag’, a flag made from the hide of a polar bear shot, to ‘Anax̱ Yaa Nadéin (it is flowing through it)’, a consideration of persistence and the consequences of resistance – his work speaks wonders.
“My work holds stories and ideas; it documents and reflects the world. It teaches and tells histories, based on my relationship to land and communities”
– Nicholas Galanin
According to Nicholas Galanin, the exhibition speaks to persistence. Indigenous People’s history and evolution flow through their bodies, minds, and souls like a river. “These connections flow like water in varied ways, from gentle imperceptible movements to sudden forces, each capable of moving, shaping, and wearing down stone,” states Galanin.
View his solo presentation of work at 176 Grand Street, New York. The exhibition will run from May 7 through to July 22, 2022.
You can also check out the online viewing room on the Peter Blum Gallery website here.