August 2017 – March 2018
Catch 22: Paradox on Paper, a selection of provocative works of contemporary art on paper from the collection of retired New York school teacher Edward J. Guarino, guest curated by Nina Sanders (Apsaalooke). This exhibition, which opened on August 15, 2017, through March 2018, offered a discourse on paper regarding the paradoxes of living and working as contemporary artists of Native descent. While each artist in the exhibition addresses these issues through their own personal identity and practice, the conversations between the works of art convey a compelling image 
of art-making today. Artists include Rose Simpson, Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Jason Garcia, Jaune Quick-to-see Smith, and Diego Romero, as well as select pieces by leaders of an earlier generation such as T.C. Cannon and Rick Bartow. Works range from Shan Goshorn and Sarah Sense’s modern adaptations of weaving and basketry that create textural and psychological statements on materiality, identity, and process or Eliza Naranjo-Morse’s conceptual self-portraits, all opening up a space of paradox and complexity.
Guest curator Nina Sanders’ artist-focused approach to these works thoughtfully emphasizes the artist’s process in the midst of life’s contradictions. She writes, “These individuals exercise their personal agency and practice indigenous resilience by rendering their thoughts and experiences into their work. Each individual artist’s idiosyncratic capacity to process life’s contradictions results in a wealth of captivating and meaningful contemporary art. I believe these 22 works are a manifestation of the complexity and paradoxical nature of Native peoples’ lives as they exist today. Each work is a personal story, a layering of observations, thoughts, hopes, and feelings.”
“A View from Here” catalog Click to read!
This exhibition was accompanied by a small catalog.
Edward J. Guarino is an author, educator, lecturer, and collector specializing in Native American and Inuit Art. He writes a monthly column on Native art and culture for the King Galleries of Scottsdale website. His work has also appeared in Native Peoples magazine and the magazine produced for the Heard Museum Indian Market. Works from the Edward J. Guarino Collection have been exhibited at the following institutions: the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe; the Brooklyn Museum; the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario; the Art Gallery of Alberta; the Esker Foundation, Calgary; the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College; the National Museum of the American Indian, NYC; and the Venice Biennale.
Nina Sanders (Apsaalooke), is an educator, writer, and museum professional. She worked for the National Museum of the American Indian curating a collection of historic Crow photographs for the Smithsonian Online Virtual Archive, and works as a liaison for the Crow Tribal Culture Department. Nina works as a museum consultant and is leading a project to build a museum on the Crow reservation. Nina has written for the Smithsonian Magazine online, the Smithsonian’s Collections Online, and First American Art Magazine.
Top photo: Edward J. Guarino at the exhibition opening, 2017.
Bottom photo: guest curator Nina Sanders, and Coe Center curator, Bess Murphy at the exhibition opening, 2017.