"From the second-floor hallway, Natalie Ball's (Klamath Modoc) intense pastels hold their own against the goldenrod color of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art wall. This tension of color fits the tension in Ball's work between urgently expressive lines and symbolic references that demand to communicate. Curator Rebecca Dobkins, responsible for every one of the eight Crow's Shadow Biennials, starts this show with a room of powerful women artists who harness the energy of Indigenous past and present."
"On the right, Ball's Billy Nat (2023), a ten color lithograph that has been collected by the Whitney Museum of American Art features the historical "Indiansploitation" symbol of the Billy Jack hat. [1] This reexamination is paired with the raw power of Deer Woman's first Tribal Council email (2023), in which gilt fingernails stab out her inaugural message of "Land Back.""
"Finally, as one turns to leave this space, there is a photo of Judith Baumann, the well respected former master printer of Crow's Shadow, whose collaborations and printmaking have been central to the last three Biennials."
Natalie Ball's intense pastels confront the Hallie Ford Museum of Art's goldenrod wall, creating a visual tension that mirrors expressive lines and symbolic content. The exhibition opens with works by Indigenous women artists, including Ball's Billy Nat lithograph and Deer Woman's Tribal Council email asserting "Land Back." Wendy Red Star's prints present research and family history through alternating displays of bishkisché, while Dyani White Hawk offers symmetrical abstractions drawn from Lakota quillwork, beadwork, and painting. A photograph of Judith Baumann acknowledges the central role of Crow's Shadow printmaking. The Biennial honors CSIA's archive role amid described changes and challenges.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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