Artist, educator, writer, and curator George Longfish (Seneca/Tuscarora) has been instrumental in shaping the field of contemporary Native American art for over forty years. After receiving his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1972, Longfish served as Professor in the Department of Native American Studies at the University of California, Davis from 1973 to 2003. He was also Director of the Carl N. Gorman Museum from 1974 to 1996, where he helped to start the careers of Linda Lomahaftewa, James Luna, Edgar Heap of Birds, and others. He retired to South Berwick, Maine in 2004.
Whether it is his overlay of the modern and the traditional, his skewing of past and present iconic images, or his employment of text, Longfish’s art draws on a sense of honor that allows truth to be pulled from all directions and the spirit to emerge from within the work in a way that heals the very wound it addresses. This exhibition shows the broad scope of Longfish’s career through the display of painting, prints, and other media from previous decades, as well as new work. It also features several works from Longfish’s collection by younger artists he has mentored, such as Gina Adams and Duane Slick. The gallery has commissioned a video interview of Longfish by one of his former students, filmmaker Asata Radcliffe. Sponsored in part by The Warren Memorial Foundation Visiting Artist Series and the USM Gorham Cultural Affairs Committee of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.
Dates: October 6 – December 9, 2016
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