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The Arts Intel Report

Action / Abstraction Redefined: Modern Native Art, 1940s–1970s

Fritz Scholder, New Mexico #40, 1966.

June 24 – Sept 3, 2023
1 Fine Arts Dr, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States

For a time, the history of Abstract Expressionism and the action painting that gave it masculine muscle seemed to be established and contained. Then came the discovery of Hilma af Klint, whose cosmology-infused paintings predated Wassily Kandinsky’s experiments. How much else are we missing? In this exhibition, which features abstract works by Native American pioneers from the 1940s to the 1970s, the Saint Louis Art Museum reshapes the postwar narrative. The art of Fritz Scholder, Lloyd Kiva New, and Linda Lomahaftewa, for instance, combines methods from the New York School with the cultural symbols of their heritage. —Elena Clavarino