Native Sons exhibit art on Franklin Avenue

The works of Sam English (Turtle Mountain and Red Lake Chippewa) and Joe Geshick (Bois Forte Ojibwe), two artists who share the esteem of American Indian people as well as national and international reputations, will be featured in Native Sons, an exhibit at Ancient Traders Gallery, May 9 through July 7.

Opening in honor of American Indian Month, the exhibit kicks off with an artists' reception at Ancient Traders Gallery, 1113 East Franklin Avenue, from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 9. The event is free.

Each artist brings a deeply spiritual and riveting style of painting to his vision of American Indian people.

Sam English draws from a bright palette to create worlds in which American Indian people wear radiant dignity as easily as their brilliant robes.

Sam, who lives and works in Old Town, Albuquerque, paints inter-tribally—"because we share the gifts." Dipping into gouache—a water-based paint that yields an opaqueness-or oil, he creates works to inspire pride in American Indians. His elongated figures don feathers, robes and sunglasses as they make the transition between traditional and modern ways of life.

"I honor them for the integrity that they espouse, their spirituality, tradition, families and extended families," he says.

Born to parents reared under a policy of "assimilation," Sam, too, felt a longing for a connection to his tribal identity, something he eventually gained along with his development as an artist.

As a child he couldn't wait to get home from school and sketch. As a young man, he studied architectural drafting and business. In Berkeley, he co-founded the National Indian Youth Council. In 1982, he set up a studio in Albuquerque where he began to paint from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. while working a full-time job.

The recipient of numerous awards and commissions, Sam was commissioned by the Presidential Inaugural Committee to create a mural for the 1997 inauguration. His work is found in galleries and private art collections around the world.

In his oil paintings, Joe Geshick reaches into traditional Native ceremonies, and emerges with a sense of celestial stillness, often captured in a single figure. His paintings—richly textured layers of vibrant colors—reflect the healing power of ceremonies and his gratitude for their impact.

Through five years of sundancing, he says, his spirit developed as he became firmly rooted in traditional ceremonies, bringing a new understanding to his life.

"I like to share my experiences with people," he says. "A lot of times I can't do that verbally. I see my own conceptions of a particular ceremony that I've been in. I create my own characters and compositions. My palette is basically earth tones, which are pretty connected to the colors in the ceremonies."

Geshick also shared his artistic gifts as an art teacher at the Lac La Croix Reserve in Ontario and later in Reno, Nev.

Paintings by Joe Geshick are found in private collections nationally and internationally. He has participated in the Indian Art Markets at the Heard Museum in Phoenix and at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis. His book illustrations were created for the novels of Louise Erdrich and other authors.

The exhibit runs through July 9. For information, call Shirlee Stone at 612-870-7555. Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Wed. to Sat. and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.