Brad Kahlhamer views himself as “tribally ambiguous.” Born in Tucson, Arizona, to one and possibly two Indigenous parents (his birth certificate omits his ethnic background) he was adopted and brought up by a German-American couple, living in Wisconsin and Arizona. As a young man he was a traveling musician living on the road and, eventually, in New York City. He had wanted to be an artist from an early age.
Clouds, 2015, oil on gessoed cardboard. Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York.
Julie Sasse, chief curator at the Tucson Museum of Art, writes, “Over time, Kahlhamer began to develop an awareness of three distinct realms of his own identity that together form a hybrid reality. He sees the ‘first place’ as his conventional American upbringing by his adoptive parents, the ‘second place’ as his Indigenous heritage, and the ‘third place’ as his paintings.”
Greatest Geronimo, 2013, acrylic on spray paint on canvas. Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York.
Sasse is the curator of the exhibition, Brad Kahlhamer: 11:59 to Tucson, opening at the museum March 17 and continuing through September 25. The museum notes, “Through his art, Kahlhamer seeks to connect to a spiritual and communal sense of belonging as well as to a culture that has eluded him in the past. Addressing issues of contemporary culture and identity, he creates works that resonate with both ambiguity and ambivalence about his origins and a fervent desire to discover them.”
National Holiday Painting, 1998, oil on canvas. Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York.
Kahlhamer’s art draws from different tribal traditions, abstract expressionism, graffiti and other sources to explore multi-ethnic and multi-cultural themes, his own life and an imagined life—all of which appear in his work in bits and pieces.
Fort Gotham Girls and Boys Club, 2014, acrylic, ink, spray paint, pencil on bed sheet. Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art. Museum Purchase. Funds provided by the Contemporary Art Society and the Virginia Johnson Fund. 2020.58. Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York.
Greatest Geronimo, 2013, depicts the Apache leader and medicine man, the logo for Topps Chewing Gum, the company where Kahlhamer worked after moving to New York, and numerous other references.
Brad Kahlhamer. Image by Xavier Tavera.
Sasse ends her catalog essay, “Kahlhamer’s art and life are a series of encounters and eruptions of signs and actions. It is the complexity of those themes and experiences combined with the artist’s ability to capture moments in enthralling visual narratives that makes his work so compelling. Metaphorically, Kahlhamer is waiting for the 11:59 to Tucson to take him back to his beginnings. Like the movie, 3:10 to Yuma, that inspired the title of his exhibition, he positions himself as both the impoverished rancher and the notorious outlaw, in a sense, bringing himself back home. However, for Kahlhamer, the ending to his story is not tragic. Rather, his journey, and the art he has made as a result, has given him more family, more connection to culture, and more fascinating stories than he could have imagined as a boy when he started his quest.”
March 17-September 25, 2022
Brad Kahlhamer: 11:59 to Tucson
Tucson Museum of Art
140 N. Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701
(520) 624-2333, www.tucsonmuseumofart.org
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