John P. Lukavic, Ph.D.

I love introducing my kids to art, but this conceptual work by Tehching Hsieh at @diaartfoundation in Beacon, NY may have broke one of them. 😂 December 31. 1986 STATEMENT I. Tehching Hsieh. have a 13 years’ plan I will make ART during this time. I will not show it PUBLICLY This plan will begin on my 36th birthday December 31. 1986 continue until my 49th birthday December 3l. 1999

pán[dòp (Cradleboard), 1911 Gouhaddle (Kiowa) Gift of the family of Beatrice Ahpeatone Family, 2024, to @firstamericansmuseum “Guohaddle’s cradleboard shows her expertise as a cradleboard maker and beadworker. She incorporated oak leaves into her designs, a common motif for Kiowa families. Blue-toned tile beads are strung on thin pieces of buckskin to adorn the hood of the cradleboard. Beads, coins, and even a baby’s first pair of moccasins are used to decorate and personalize the hood of cradleboards.”

a naa ka ni (woven mat) Kickapoo artist Collected by Mark R. Harrington, 1910 On view at @firstamericansmuseum in Oklahoma City, OK Elderly Kickapoo woman rolling bark fibers into twine on her leg, 1910. This technique was used to soften the fibers for weaving these types of mats. Courtesy of National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution [N02997) Courtesy of the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (027482.000)

The @denverartmuseum loaned 10 works by Fritz Scholder to the @mmkfrankfurt for their new exhibition, “Fritz Scholder,” now open at TOWER MMK in Frankfurt, Germany. Here are a few of them. 1) “Indian in Taos Pueblo” (1970) 2) “Indian 1776” (1975) 3) “Indian Power” (1972) 4) “Mad Indian #3” (about 1970) 5) “Tired Indian #1” (about 1975) 6) “Taco” (1985) 7) “Massacre in America: Wounded Knee” (1972) 8) MMK booklet with “Indian Power” on the cover

Open now at the TOWER MMK in Frankfurt, Germany ( @mmkfrankfurt ): “Fritz Scholder” which includes 10 works from the collection of the @denverartmuseum 25 April – 25 October 2026 TOWERMMK TaunusTurm, Taunustor 1 60310 Frankfurt am Main From the museum’s site: “In a softly shimmering blue, then brown, then green, then gray, then pink, then green, then violet, then blue again, the colors of present day New Mexico landscapes are layered horizontally. In stark contrast to the pastel colors of these landscapes that shimmer with light, the figures by Fritz Scholder (1937–2005) stand out against clear, monochrome, saturated backgrounds. As early as the 1960s and 1970s, Scholder addressed how depictions of Indigenous bodies, realities, and (hi)stories appeared primarily as projection surfaces for a white majority society. By repurposing historical photographs, exaggerating them, and tipping them into the grotesque, Scholder exposed power dynamics that continue to shape the production and circulation of images to this day. His works address questions of visual sovereignty—the right to determine one’s own representation—and reveal how deeply the representation of Native Americans is shaped by colonial perspectives. With humor, but also with stark, unflinching clarity, Scholder liberated himself both from these visual regimes and the Indigenous visual traditions prevalent at the time to create contemporary images of his own. The comprehensive exhibition Fritz Scholder presents, for the first time outside North America, a large number of the artist’s paintings, drawings, collages, and lithographs, thereby broadening the scope of what has been hitherto understood as American Pop Art.”

Check out link to full article and a great 8+ minute video interview in my bio.

“Mun-Dirra (Maningrida Fish Fence)” (2023) is on view now in the exhibition “The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art”. Pandanus Guide (Pandanus sp.), kurrajong (Brachychiton sp.), bush cane (Flagellaria sp.), jungle vine (Malaisia sp.), natural dyes; 181 × 3937 in. (variable). National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne: Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased with funds donated by Lisa FoX, 2023 (2023./51.1). © The Artists/Copyright Agency, 2024. Photo: Predrag Cancar / NGV Freda Ali (Burarra-Martay, born 1971), Freda Wayartja Ali (Burarra-Martay, born 1959), Maureen Ali (Burarra-Martay, born 1978), Cecille Baker (Burarra-Martay, born 1980), Michelle Baker (Burarra-Martay, born 1971), Bonnie Burarngarra (Burarra/Yan-nhanu, born 1958), Gabriella Garrimara (Burarra-Martay, born 1984), Doreen Garrimara (Burarra-Martay, born 1984), Doreen Jinggarrabarra (Burarra Anbarra, born 1961), Lorna Jin-Gubarrangunyja (Burarra-Martay, born 1952), Indra Prudence (Burarra-Martay, born 1980), Jennifer Prudence (Burarra-Martay, born 1973), Zoe Prudence (Burarra-Martay, born 1990), Anthea Stewart (Burarra-Martay, born 1981).

Dr. Maree Clarke ( @ree_clarke ), is a Yorta Yorta / Wamba Wamba / Mutti Mutti / Boonwurrung woman, artist and curator. Clarke is a pivotal figure in the reclamation of south-east Australian Aboriginal art and cultural practices and has a passion for reviving and sharing elements of Aboriginal culture that were lost – or lying dormant – as a consequence of colonization. Come see two works by Maree in the exhibition “The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art” at the @denverartmuseum through July 26, 2026.

And just like that, the exhibition “The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art” is now open at the @denverartmuseum It’s a blessing to have had the chance to work with these incredible colleagues/friends. L to R: Dr. Royce K. Young Wolf, Dr. Maree Clarke ( @ree_clarke ), Manuel Ferreira ( @5.ferreira.5 ), Dr. Myles Russell-Cook ( @myzrc ), Dr. Jessica Clark ( @clark_jessicaa ), and Dr. John P. Lukavic ( @nativeartdenver ).

Ever wonder how an exhibition is installed? How we decide where things go and where specifically to install works in a space? Check out this before-and-after look of the installation of “The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art” at the @denverartmuseum “The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art” is the largest exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art ever presented internationally. This landmark exhibition is the product of an unprecedented cultural partnership between the @ngvmelbourne (NGV) in Melbourne and the @ngadc in DC, and the Denver Art Museum is the second venue of the exhibition. Organized by the NGV especially for North American audiences, the exhibition features more than 130 works by 142 artists, several of whom worked collaboratively, drawn exclusively from the NGV’s world-leading collection. These works are designed to elicit a sense of awe, while introducing visitors to the art, resilience, and depth of the world’s longest continuous cultures. Through a rich display of iconic masterpieces—many of which have never before left Australia—The Stars We Do Not See charts watershed moments in Indigenous art from the late 19th century to the present. The exhibition introduces audiences to customary forms and styles in Indigenous Australian art, including the conceptual map paintings of the Central and Western Deserts, ochre bark paintings, and experimental weavings. It also highlights the work of new-media artists, who build on tradition with groundbreaking works in neon, video, and photography. The exhibition is curated by Myles Russell-Cook ( @myzrc ), Artistic Director & CEO of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA @acca_melbourne ) and former Senior Curator of Australian and First Nations Art, National Gallery of Victoria. At the Denver Art Museum, the exhibition is curated and organized by John P. Lukavic, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Native Arts, Caitlin O'Beirne, Curatorial Assistant of Native Arts and Manuel Ferreira, Interpretive Specialist.