Travois First Fridays: “Life Is Breathtaking” by Cannupa Hanska Luger

Multidisciplinary artist Cannupa Hanska Luger (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota), whose art and humanitarian work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, First American Art Magazine and other media, will join us for the next Travois First Fridays event on Friday, June 1.

With his exhibition, “Life Is Breathtaking,” Cannupa will exhibit various groupings of ceramic and mixed media sculptural works including a series of ceramic buffalo skulls that inform the exhibition’s title and which represent various stages of commodification and perceived value.

Our office will be open to the public from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Cannupa will give a brief artist talk at 6:30 p.m.

“Every piece continues to take a lifetime to create, so that life itself is a material,” Cannupa explained. “And so, art should represent this moment in time, an interpretation of right now.”

For all of the various artwork series presented, he uses materials that are emblematic of human civilization such as clay, textiles and steel to communicate our current collective experience and challenge systemic conditions such as capitalism and extractive industry while claiming space for urgent and emergent Indigenous narratives.

Cannupa has been in the news for his art and humanitarian work:

Cannupa holds a BFA in studio arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts. He was a recipient of the 2016 Native Arts & Cultures Foundation National Artist Fellowship Award and has participated in artist residencies and institution lectures throughout the nation. He maintains a studio practice in New Mexico. His work is collected and exhibited internationally.

Cannupa’s work has been noted as “a modern look at ideas of colonization, adaptability and survival as major components to the development of culture” by Western Art Collector Magazine, and The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation noted that “Luger could well rise to be one of those artists whose caliber is unmatched and whose work will be studied by students to come, thus furthering the path for many more contemporary Native artists.”

Read more about him (and Travois First Friday upcoming exhibitions) in our media release and on his website, Facebook and Instagram.

We can’t wait to host him in Kansas City! We hope to see you here!

Photos are courtesy of Marco Pavan (top portrait) and the artist.