Painter: Fritz Scholder

An American artist who prolifically explored the plight of Native Americans and exposed the weighted cliché behind American notions of guilt and dominance in that regard. His style, to me, seems indebted slightly to Francis Bacon, many of his compositions verge just shy of imitative. His use of negative space pleases me, atmospheric blanks are not easy to depict. His figuration is also marvellous and twisted, always retaining the notion of the whole distorted by circumstance and perception.

Snake Dancer, 1967
oil on canvas
Gift of Mr. John B. L. Goodwin, 1969



Kiva Rest, 1977,
acrylic on canvas,

Scholder’s familiarity with pueblos are evident in Kiva Rest. Centrally located in a pueblo village, the kiva structure is a site where men would perform their daily activities as well as their secretive religious ceremonies with sacred dancing and dramatic reenactments of Pueblo origins. Scholder employs vivid colors and lively gestures to express the celebratory atmosphere in a kiva. He offers a glimpse into that mysterious world through an unidentifiable, seated figure engulfed in the glow of firelight. Even the cool shadows come alive with a flickering of intense colors. The colors in Kiva Rest also imply the personal relationship Scholder has with the southwest landscape and culture from the warm yellows and pinks to the turquoise blues. via here

z Scholder
Indian and Contemporary Chair, 1970

oil on linen (Smithsonian)