Rooted in intergenerational knowledge, Dyani White Hawk’s (Sičáŋǧu Lakota, b. 1976) art centers on connection—between one another, past and present, earth and sky. By foregrounding Lakota forms and motifs, she challenges prevailing histories and practices surrounding abstract art. Featuring multimedia paintings, sculpture, video, and more, Love Language gathers 15 years of the artist’s work in this major survey.
The exhibition unfolds across four sections named by the artist to speak to Indigenous value systems: See; Honor, Nurture; and Celebrate. See introduces visitors to White Hawk’s worldview. Opening with early pieces that combine quillwork, beadwork, and painting, the artist examines, dissects, and reassembles elements of her own Sičáŋǧu Lakota and European American ancestries. Visitors will encounter Lakota forms and teachings that inform her practice, alongside works addressing urgent issues of settler colonialism and oppression.
In Honor, Nurture, White Hawk uplifts family, ancestors, and community. Her acclaimed Quiet Strength series honors the labor of Indigenous women by referencing Lakota quillwork in the form of large abstract paintings. The 12-channel video installation LISTEN (2020) features contemporary Indigenous women speaking in their Native languages on their homelands. I Am Your Relative (2020), a collaboration with Tom Jones (Ho-Chunk), presents life-size photographic portraits carrying powerful language: “I am / more than your desire / more than your fantasy / more than a mascot / ancestral love prayer sacrifice / your relative.”
The exhibition’s final section, Celebrate, marries traditional techniques with outsize scale, paying homage to small gestures that hold great meaning. Featured here are a new series of glass mosaics, beaded sculptures, and White Hawk’s monumental Wopila | Lineage paintings. Made in collaboration with a skilled team of studio beadworkers, these shimmering expanses of pattern and color invite close inspection of both their material construction and their historical underpinnings.
Visitors are encouraged to engage with Love Language as a community space. The galleries offer lounging areas with interpretive materials, educational resources, and cushions and blankets designed by the artist.
Accessibility
Galleries 1 and 3 are accessible via the elevator just outside the galleries. Gallery 2 is accessible via a lift inside the gallery. Our gallery assistants are available on-site to provide wayfinding guidance and answer questions.
Curatorial Team
Siri Engberg, Senior Curator and Director of Visual Arts, Walker Art Center, and Tarah Hogue (Métis), Adjunct Curator of Indigenous Art, Remai Modern; with Brandon Eng, Curatorial Assistant, Visual Arts, Walker Art Center
Before Your Visit
Paid underground parking is available on-site. Enter the ramp on Vineland Place at Bryant Avenue. Biking or taking Metro Transit? Learn more.
Visiting the galleries? Enhance your experience by joining a public tour or with self-guided resources accessible for free on Bloomberg Connects.
Personal photography is permitted throughout the Walker and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, but please turn off the flash when visiting the galleries.
To help us promote future events and programs, this event may be photographed or recorded. By attending, you consent to appear in this documentation and its future use by the museum. Please let staff know upon arrival if you prefer not to be photographed.
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