Joe Feddersen's "Echo" from the ""Madison Alumni: A Legacy of Indigenous Perspectives" at UW-Memorial Union though March 21.
“I come from people who are makers of beauty and possibility,” writes Karen Goulet, one of 16 Indigenous artists whose work is highlighted in Madison Alumni: A Legacy of Indigenous Perspectives, on display in the UW Memorial Union’s Main Gallery through March 21.
Goulet’s mixed media work “Viola’s Blues” utilizes a patchwork-like grid to weave together monotone photos, stitched butterflies and geometric motifs often associated with Native American designs. It’s a good introduction to the range of the art in the exhibit, which encompasses connection to family and nature, a foregrounding of their own mediums, and, as Goulet writes in an artist statement, “historical trauma.”
Derick Wycherly’s “Regional Fare,” drypoint and engraving on handmade paper, is a thoughtful arrangement of textures that evoke painterly topo maps, and the beauty of the land from above. Wycherly, a third-year master of fine arts candidate, is one to watch.
Joe Feddersen’s “Echo” (pictured) utilizes shapes associated with effigy mounds, but there’s a surprise among the images in this mixed media print. It is just one of the pieces in this show, curated by professor of art John Hitchcock, that rewards careful looking.
