April 1-October 29, 2023 | Nevada Museum of Art | Reno, NV

Dense with Meaning

A retrospective at the Nevada Museum of Art honors the work of Ben Aleck.

The art of Northern Paiute artist Ben Aleck captures Indigenous stories of the past—of the stars, coyotes, the formation of the Great Basin lands, the origin of its people and more. Simultaneously, his work—rendered in mediums like acrylic, ink, graphite and gouache—highlights the modern-day issues of environmental protection and water use. Opening April 1 at the Nevada Museum of Art, The Art of Ben Aleck features more than 30 of Aleck’s paintings, drawings and mixed media works. A survey of the artist’s long career, the show emphasizes the deep connections between Indigenous communities and the Great Basin. The Art of Ben Aleck also coincides with the release of a 128-page book of the same title, dedicated to Aleck’s artistic practice.

Kwe’naa’a (eagle), ca. 2010, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 120”. Collection of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony.

“Visitors will see everything from Aleck’s high school and college work to his work with [more of] an emphasis on Indigenous landscapes, resources and storytelling,” says Ann M. Wolfe, Nevada Art Museum’s Andrea and John C. Deane Family chief curator and associate director.

Mount Rose, 2012, pen and ink on paper, 20 x 24”. Location unknown.

“Aleck was inspired early on by his time in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he studied at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now CCA) [and] participated in the [American Indian] Occupation of Alcatraz in 1969,” Wolfe continues. “Aleck is a long-respected member of the Northern Nevada community and the Great Basin. He is both a fine artist and a longtime educator who worked for many years at the Pyramid Lake Museum and Visitors Center.” She adds, “Ben blends humor, knowledge and emotion to open eyes and hearts to contemporary issues of the region we call the Greater West.”

Great Basin Tribes, 2019, acrylic on paper, 16¾ x 23”. Collection of Melissa Melero-Moose.

As both an artist and educator, Aleck has lent his knowledge and experiences to multiple organizations throughout the years, including a role as co-curator of the exhibition Under One Sky at the Nevada State Museum, and as a founding member of the Great Basin Native Artists. He’s also co-curated The Way We Live: American Indian Art of the Great Basin at the Nevada Museum of Art and contributed as a speaker and participant at the inaugural Art + Environment Conference at the Nevada Museum of Art back in 2008.