Image: EVOKE Contemporary, Santa Fe
Evoke Contemporary in Santa Fe is presenting a Summer Salon group exhibition this weekend, placing paintings by Rabbett Before Horses Strickland at the center of a selection that also includes Michael Scott, Francis DiFronzo, Irene Hardwicke Olivieri, Nicholas Herrera and David T. Alexander. The gallery is offering special hours Friday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., for visitors to see the show.
The exhibition is framed by the gallery as a survey of contemporary work drawn from indigenous mythology, nature, surreal landscapes and current social concerns. In the source material, Rabbett Before Horses Strickland is identified as a self-taught Ojibwe artist whose work has been recognized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Evoke’s viewing-room text also describes him as an Anishinaabe artist and an enrolled member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, with additional ties to the Red Cliff and Bad River bands of Lake Superior Ojibwe.
According to the gallery, Strickland works from his home in secluded woodlands in northern Wisconsin, making large-scale paintings that bring Anishinaabe mythology to life. The gallery says his practice uses the visual language of the European Old Masters to depict spirits and origin stories. Evoke’s online material also notes that he is a musician and theoretical mathematician, though the exhibition announcement focuses on the paintings.
The Summer Salon pairs Strickland’s work with a set of artists whose practices span landscape painting, mixed media, devotional imagery and expressive color. Michael Scott’s paintings are presented as meditations on the transformative power of nature, while Francis DiFronzo’s scenes are described as highly realistic landscapes that move between beauty and loneliness. Irene Hardwicke Olivieri’s works incorporate handwritten text and found materials, and Nicholas Herrera’s retablos, bultos and mixed-media works engage family history, place and political ideology.
David T. Alexander rounds out the group with canvases driven by saturated color and landscape references. Evoke describes his palette as intentionally exaggerated, shifting between Southwest earth tones and Arctic and coastal contrasts. The combination of artists gives the exhibition a broad visual range while keeping the focus on painting and related forms.
Evoke Contemporary’s website presents the project as ‘Summer Salon: introducing Rabbett Before Horses Strickland’ in a viewing-room format, while the email announcement invites visitors to see the Summer Salon Group Show in person at the gallery’s Santa Fe address on South Guadalupe Street. The special weekend hours are listed as Friday, Saturday and Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
