JANE SAUER GALLERY

"I was born Ottawa and Mexican. My mother's people come from the upper peninsula of what is now known as Michigan and my father's people come from San Antonio, Texas before Texas became a part of the United States. My parents divorced when I was young and my Mother remarried. My stepfather who raised me was half African American, half Polish, whose family had migrated to Michigan from Chicago, Illinois. My grandmother, who was Ottawa and my grandfather, who was Chippewa were a huge influence on my spiritual life.

Subversiveness has been central to my work for a long time and this idea of overturning the established continues to inspire my current work. Overcoming obstacles and barriers and questions of identity are the issues I focus on and address in my art. I primarily paint figuratively using symbolic imagery combined with highly contrasting and unusual bold colors. The ideas I express in painting are from personal experiences and my inner feelings. They are a personal chronicle of my inner self.

The art I create in wood aims to rearrange the established ideals around contemporary craft. Using established woodworking techniques, I create contemporary wood objects infused with a Native perspective. Though they appear modern, they are informed by a long history of woodcraft among my Anishnabe people."

Dennis Esquivel