Dana Claxton, Cultural Belongings, 2016, LED Firebox with transmounted chromogenic transparency, Collection of Rosalind and Amir Adnani.
The Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory congratulates Professor Dana Claxton on her solo exhibition opening at the Vancouver Art Gallery; Dana Claxton: Fringing the Cube. The exhibition runs October 27, 2018 to February 3, 2019.
This is the first exhibition to survey the formidable career of Vancouver-based Hunkpapa Lakota (Sioux) artist Dana Claxton. Known for her expansive multidisciplinary approach to art making, Claxton investigates notions of Indigenous identity, beauty, gender and the body. Comprising photography, video, text-based work and documentation of her performances, Dana Claxton: Fringing the Cube presents a body of work that is both visually compelling and thought provoking.
“As a prolific multidisciplinary artist, Dana Claxton has been an important voice for reclaiming narratives around Indigenous culture through striking critique of stereotypes and ideologies,” says Kathleen S. Bartels, Director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. “From the Indigenous portraits captured to stunning effect in her ‘fireboxes’, to the dramatic video installations that retell the stories of her Hunkpapa Lakota (Sioux) people, Dana’s emotive works compel audiences to re-examine their understanding of Indigenous art.”
Artist Biography
Dana Claxton (b. 1959, Yorkton, Saskatchewan) grew up in Moose Jaw where stories of her ancestors walking to Saskatchewan with Sitting Bull in 1877 played an important role in her upbringing. Her formal education includes studies at Simon Fraser University, where she received an MA in Liberal Studies in 2007. From 2009 to 2010 she was the Chair of Women’s Studies at Emily Carr University of Art and Design and since 2010 she has been an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory. She has received numerous awards including a VIVA Award from the Doris and Jack Shadbolt Foundation and an Eiteljorg Fellowship from the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis.
Claxton has exhibited widely at venues that include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Biennale of Sydney; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Vancouver Art Gallery; CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto; CAPTURE Photography Festival, Vancouver; Audain Gallery, Vancouver; Musée d’art contemporain, Montréal among other venues. Her work is represented in both national and international collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Vancouver Art Gallery; Winnipeg Art Gallery; and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, to name a few.
