Nicholas Galanin. Photo by Ben Huff for The New York Times
Examining the complexities of contemporary Indigenous identity, culture, and representation, Nicholas Galanin works from his experience as a Lingít and Unangax̂ artist. Embedding incisive observation and reflection into his oftentimes provocative work, he aims to redress the widespread misappropriation of Indigenous visual culture, the impact of colonialism, as well as collective amnesia. Galanin reclaims narrative and creative agency, while demonstrating contemporary Indigenous art as a continually evolving practice. As he describes: “My process of creation is a constant pursuit of freedom and vision for the present and future. I use my work to explore adaptation, resilience, survival, dream, memory, cultural resurgence, and connection and disconnection to the land.” Galanin unites both traditional and contemporary practices, creating a synthesis of elements in order to navigate “the politics of cultural representation.” Speaking through multiple visual, sonic, and tactile languages, his concepts determine his processes, which include sculpture, installation, photography, video, performance, and textile-based work. This contemporary practice builds upon an Indigenous artistic continuum while celebrating the culture and its people; Galanin contributes urgent criticality and vision through resonant and layered works.
Nicholas Galanin was born in 1979 and lives and works in Sitka, AK. He participated in 2023 Liverpool Biennial, 2021 Desert X Biennial, 2020 Biennale of Sydney, 2019 Whitney Biennial, 2019 Honolulu Biennial, and 2017 Venice Biennale Native American Pavilion among others. Solo exhibitions include Baltimore Museum of Art, MD (2024), SITE Santa Fe, NM (2023), New York Public Art Fund (2023-24), Heard Museum, AZ (2018) among others. Galanin’s work is in permanent collections such as The Museum of Modern Art, NY, Whitney Museum of Art, NY, Hessel Museum of Art, NY, Art Bridges, Bentonville, AR, Brooklyn Museum, NY, Seattle Art Museum, WA, Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA, Art Institute of Chicago, IL, Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, TX, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ont, Denver Art Museum, CO, Princeton University Art Museum, NJ, Portland Art Museum, OR, Vancouver Art Gallery, BC, Cleveland Museum of Art, OH, and Cornell University Art Museum, NY, among others. He is a 2023 Joan Mitchell Fellow, the 2020 recipient of the Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Award in Art, Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, and a 2020 recipient of a Soros Arts Fellowship.
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