Diverse group of visionary artists highlighted in second rotation of exhibition

Anita Rodriguez (American, born 1941)
Boda Bacalar, 1997
Acrylic on wood
Gift and Gerald and Dorit Paul
2018.16.1

INDIANAPOLIS – An ongoing exhibition at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art explores the fascinating work of visionary women artists who shaped and changed the ways people think about contemporary art.

The second rotation of Powerful Women: Contemporary Art from the Eiteljorg Collection highlights women artists whose work speaks to issues of personal identity, political agency, memory and violence against women. Featuring outstanding works by Native American, African American, Latina, Asian American and European American women contemporary artists, Powerful Women II continues through March 13, 2022 at the Eiteljorg. It is part of the museum’s larger theme for 2020-2021, Honoring Women, that recognizes more than 100 years of women’s suffrage, and celebrates women and their accomplishments through exhibitions, public programs and online content.

“Though not always recognized or acknowledged, women are powerful,” Eiteljorg Vice President and Chief Curatorial Officer Elisa Phelps said. “Women can accomplish anything through strength and determination. For this accomplished group of contemporary artists, creativity is another element of their power and we celebrate them.”

Included in Powerful Women II are paintings, sculptures, mixed media and installations by a diverse group of artists, including Hung Liu (Chinese), Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Iñupiaq / Athabascan), Wendy Red Star (Crow), Anita Rodriguez (Latina), Alison Saar (American), Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee Nation), Emmi Whitehorse (Navajo), and others.

Gallery image from the exhibition Powerful Women II: Contemporary Art from the Eiteljorg Collection, on view now through March 13, 2022, at the Eiteljorg Museum
Image by Hadley Fruits Photography and courtesy of the Eiteljorg Museum

Powerful Women II opened April 17, 2021, in the museum’s Hurt and Harvey galleries. It originally was scheduled to close Jan. 18, 2022, but has been extended to March 13, and now more visitors can experience it. This is a follow-up exhibit to the first rotation of Powerful Women that ran from Sept. 19, 2020, to March 21, 2021. That earlier rotation featured works by Native American women contemporary artists such as Bonnie Devine (Ojibwa), Marie K. Watt (Seneca), Skawennati (Mohawk) and Luzene Hill (Eastern Band of Cherokee), among others.

Some of the artists whose pieces appeared in one or both rotations of Powerful Women are past recipients of the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship. Anita Fields (Osage), whose sculpture Opposites Attract is on view now, is the invited artist at the 2021 Fellowship exhibit, Shifting Boundaries. More information about the Fellows and their art is found at contemporaryartfellowship.eiteljorg.org.

Anita Fields (Osage, born 1951)
Opposites Attract, 2005
Clay
Gift: Courtesy of Paul and Grace Markovits

The Eiteljorg’s Honoring Women theme is sponsored by the Margot L. Eccles Arts & Culture Fund (a CICF Fund), Capital Group, Chase Private Client, Ice Miller LLP, Citizens Energy Group, the Indiana Arts Commission and the Art Council of Indianapolis. The exhibition Powerful Women II also is sponsored by AARP Indiana.

Previous Eiteljorg exhibitions that were part of the larger Honoring Women theme included Quilts: Uncovering Women’s Stories, which closed Jan. 3, 2021, and Hard Twist: Western Ranch Women – Photographs by Barbara Van Cleve, a traveling exhibition of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame that finished April 25, 2021.

For the latest updates, visit eiteljorg.org or follow the Eiteljorg on social media. The Eiteljorg Museum is currently open with public health measures in effect for the safety of visitors.

The installation Fancy Shawl Project (2000) by Wendy Red Star (Crow), a 2009 Eiteljorg Fellow, is on view in the exhibition Powerful Women II: Contemporary Art from the Eiteljorg Collection, through March 13, 2022.
Image by Hadley Fruits Photography and courtesy of the Eiteljorg Museum

About the Eiteljorg Museum
A cultural pillar for 32 years in downtown Indianapolis’ scenic White River State Park, the Eiteljorg Museum seeks to inspire an appreciation and understanding of the arts, history and cultures of the Indigenous peoples of North America and of the American West by telling amazing stories. Located on the Central Canal at 500 West Washington St., the Eiteljorg is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. It was named one of the USA Today Readers’ Choice 10 Best Indiana Attractions.

Note:  Native American Art magazine in its October-November 2021 issue featured an article about the Powerful Women II exhibition, at this link:
Native American Art Magazine_Oct-Nov 2021_Powerful Women II article

The Johnson County Daily Journal on Jan. 22, 2022, published an article about Powerful Women II, at this link:
Daily Journal_Powerful Women article_1.22.22

The Lebanon Reporter on Jan. 25, 2022 reprinted the Johnson County Daily Journal‘s article about Powerful Women II, at this link:
Daily Reporter_Lebanon_1.25.22_reprinted_Exhibition focuses on women artists and their work _ News

Media Contacts
Bryan Corbin
Public Relations Manager
317.275.1315
bcorbin@eiteljorg.com

Bert Beiswanger
Director of Marketing and Communications
317.275.1317
bbeiswanger@eiteljorg.com

Sophia Holt-Wilson
Digital Communications Coordinator
317.275.1388
shwilson@eiteljorg.com