SANTA FE, NM.- Site Sante Fe is now presenting Interference Patterns, a solo exhibition of new and recent work by multidisciplinary Tlingit and Unangax̂ artist Nicholas Galanin through February 5, 2024.

Rooted in his relationship to Land as well as Indigenous visual language and thought, Galanin merges conceptual and material practices in his expansive creative approach, employing numerous materials and processes to reflect on and speak to contemporary issues from an Indigenous perspective.

Interference Patterns presents over twenty-five new and existing works (2006-2023), including video installation, sculpture, performance art, works on paper, and installation, celebrating Indigenous knowledge and reenvisioning legacies and consequences of colonization and occupation. Boldly and intentionally disrupting colonial narratives and fiction by centering Indigenous perspectives, Galanin’s varied works touch on the intersection of Land and Water, cultural erasure, forced assimilation, natural and forced migration, environmental violence, and climate crisis with settler-colonial capitalism.

"This exhibition reflects the ways natural patterns are being interfered with, and intentionally interferes with colonial patterns of oppression.” – Nicholas Galanin

Neon American Anthem (red), 2023, is a participatory performance piece commissioned by SITE SANTA FE that invites visitors to come together and “scream until you can’t breathe” in response to legislated violence and oppression by the United States on those inside and outside its borders.

Galanin’s work will expand beyond the gallery spaces to occupy SITE SANTA FE’s public art initiative, the Billboard Project. Located on the western exterior of the building, Galanin will cultivate space for reflection and rouse a sense of urgency for interdependence in diverse experiences and differences.

Interference Patterns is curated by Brandee Caoba.

Accompanying programs will be updated at sitesantafe.org About the Artist
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 earned a BFA at London Guildhall University (2003); an MFA at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand (2007); and apprenticed with master carvers and jewelers. He currently lives and works with his family in Sitka, Alaska. Galanin participated in Desert X, Palm Springs (2021); Biennale of Sydney (2020); Whitney Biennial (2019); Honolulu Biennial (2019), and Venice Biennale (2017). Galanin’s work is in permanent collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Art Institute of Chicago; Detroit Institute of Arts; the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Denver Art Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and Princeton University. He received an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2020) and received a Soros Arts Fellowship (2020).

Site Santa Fe
Interference Patterns
October 6th, 2023 - February 5th, 2024