NEWS RELEASE
October 1, 2015
Contacts: Teri Sharp, Public Relations Manager
419-254-5082
[email protected]
Alia Orra, Marketing Communications Coordinator
419-255-8000 ext 7542
[email protected]
Masterworks of American Indian Art from Diker Collection
on View Feb. 12-May 8, 2016 at Toledo Museum of Art
TOLEDO, Ohio – Indigenous Beauty: Masterworks of American Indian Art from the Diker Collection,
which celebrates the visionary creativity and technical mastery of native North American artists from
tribes across the continent, will arrive at the Toledo Museum of Art on Feb. 12, 2016. The exhibition is
a rare opportunity for the public to see such a large collection of Native American art.
Organized by American Federation of Arts (AFA), the exhibition features approximately 120
masterworks selected from the holdings of Charles and Valerie Diker, whose collection is renowned as
one of the largest and most comprehensive in private hands. Works in the exhibition show innovative
uses of materials; precision of workmanship; ingenious deployment of pattern, design, and abstraction;
and expressiveness of form and representation, qualities that have been valued across generations and
remain valued today.
Indigenous Beauty encompasses a remarkable range of cultural and historical diversity. Works in
the exhibition reflect artistic traditions defined by geography, media, and a common past.
“We are particularly pleased to host this exhibition because of our interest in presenting a
diversity of cultural expression currently not reflected in our collection,” said Museum Director Brian
Kennedy, who brought an exhibition of contemporary Aboriginal Australian art to TMA two years ago.
“Indigenous Beauty reminds us that American art did not begin in the Colonial period but has centuriesold roots in the traditions and practices of native peoples.”
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Indigenous Beauty–2
This exhibition, the first traveling show curated from the Diker collection, will be on view Feb.
12-May 8, 2016 at the Toledo Museum of Art. Entrance to the exhibition is free.
Toledo is the final stop on the tour. The exhibition was also shown at the Seattle Art Museum
(Feb. 12-May 17, 2015); the Amon Carter Museum of Art (July 5-Sept. 13, 2015) and the Michael C.
Carlos Museum, Emory University (Oct. 8, 2015–Jan. 3, 2016)
The exhibition emphasizes the interrelated themes of diversity, beauty and knowledge. The
themes relate both to the original context of the works and to the ways in which they might be
experienced by non-Native visitors in a museum setting.
“The objects demonstrate both functional and artistic qualities; the range of objects is quite
stunning,” said Halona Norton-Westbrook, TMA coordinator for the touring exhibition. “The exhibition
is especially rich with art of the Northwest and Inuit peoples.”
The work includes sculpture of the Northwest Coast; ancient ivories from the Bering Strait
region; Yup’ik and Aleut masks from the Western Arctic; Katsina dolls of the Southwest pueblos;
Southwest pottery; sculptural objects from the Eastern Woodlands; Eastern regalia; Plains regalia;
pictographic arts of the Plains; and Western blankets.
Maps identify areas that have been occupied by specific cultural groups, and introductory texts
describe features that have characterized these groups over time.
Visitors will be reminded there is not just one North American Indian culture but hundreds of
unique groups whose languages, mythologies and customs evolved over centuries. The Dikers’
collection provides a broad view of the complexity and historical specificity of Native American art.
Indigenous Beauty celebrates native North American artists whose creativity and technical
mastery have helped preserve cultural values across generations.
Indigenous Beauty: Masterworks of American Indian Art from the Diker Collection is organized
by the American Federation of Arts.
This exhibition is made possible by the generosity of an anonymous donor, the JFM Foundation
and Mrs. Donald Cox.
The guest curator of the exhibition is David Penney, an internationally recognized scholar of
American Indian art. His many publications include “North American Indian Art” (2004), part of the
Thames and Hudson World of Art series. The fully illustrated exhibition catalog includes an essay by
Penney along with contributions from a number of other experts.
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Indigenous Beauty–3
The AFA is a nonprofit institution dedicated to enriching the public’s experience and
understanding of the visual arts that organizes art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the
world, publishes exhibition catalogues and develops education programs.
The Toledo presentation of this special exhibition is sponsored in part by Taylor Cadillac and
supported in part by the generous members of the Toledo Museum of Art and the Ohio Arts Council.
Admission to the Toledo Museum of Art and to the exhibition is free. For more information, visit
toledomuseum.org.
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Note: For images or more information, contact Teri Sharp, public relations manager, at 419-254-5082 or
[email protected] or Alia Orra, marketing communications manager, at 419-255-8000 ext.
7542 or [email protected].
The Toledo Museum of Art is a nonprofit arts institution funded through individual donations, foundation grants, corporate
sponsorships, and investments. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund programs at the Toledo Museum of Art through a
sustainability grant program that encourages economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all
Ohioans. Glass Pavilion® and Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion® are registered service marks.
Admission to the Museum is free. The Museum is open Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10
a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m.; and is closed Monday and major holidays. Thursday
evening hours are sponsored by Huntington Wealth Advisors. Friday evening hours are made possible by Fifth Third Bank.
The Museum is located at 2445 Monroe Street at Scottwood Avenue, just west of the downtown business district and one
block off I-75 with exit designations posted. For general information, visitors can call 419-255-8000 or 800-644-6862, or
visit toledomuseum.org.