Marcus Amerman in his studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Photo by Addison Doty.

Museum director Henrietta Lidchi explains how the exhibition initially came together: “Amerman’s beadwork is widely known, but the sources and the breadth of his thinking, his artistic practice and the interconnectedness of the work, his network of relationships and his overarching philosophy and trajectory are not as well known nor as recognized as they should be. As we vigorously texted about titles, Pathfinder seemed the most appropriate. He has set so many things in motion, and trodden paths that others are curious about or build upon. We all believe that this is the right time to remind everyone of his importance to the American art canon.”

Works in progress in Amerman’s studio. Photo by Addison Doty.

Of his constantly changing creative energy, Amerman says, “I would try to learn different mediums when I could but it’s about being provocated or intuited about what subject I want to do. Belonging to a lot of creative clans like glass, beadwork or performance art in the Indian art world—I liked belonging to all those places and knowing those people and knowing what they’re doing. In every aspect of Indian art there’s always room for innovation. I’m an innovative person. I don’t really make a statement; I just do what I like. ”

Marcus Amerman (Choctaw), Iron Horse Jacket, ca. 1982, leather, studs and glass beads. From the collection of James Fendenheim.A couple of Amerman’s very early paintings on paper will be displayed from his days at Whitman College, where he depicted icons like Marilyn Monroe, as she would look as a Native American. But the exhibition truly begins with another icon: a beaded portrait of a young Brooke Shields on a leather motorcycle jacket titled Iron Horse Jacket, created in 1980. “This was my first piece in this style. I call it photobeadilism—a style I invented,” the artist remarks. “People in Santa Fe think the style arose organically, but I was the originator.”

Marcus Amerman (Choctaw) and Preston Singletary (Tlingit), Buffalo Man, ca. 2010, blown and sand carved glass

Another significant impact on Amerman’s career is his relationship to his alter ego or spiritual guide known as Buffalo Man—pointing the artist in different creative directions based on the artist’s past lives. “He speaks for the other world. He’s my communication point. He’s my performance earth character. He’s a living spirit in that mask,” says Amerman. “I did public programming for a museum called Buffalo Man Unmasked, where I expressed his idea through dance and video about climate change in the 1990s and nobody ever listened.” Ultimately, Buffalo Man has one prevailing message that Amerman tries to perpetuate: prepare for the future and avoid regret.

Marcus Amerman (Choctaw) and Preston Singletary (Tlingit), Song of the Underwater Panther, cast and engraved glass.

The retrospective will also highlight the artist’s unique and successful collaborations with artists such as Cara Romero (Chemehuevi) and Preston Singletary (Tlingit). “[Displayed] alongside [the early works] are the large glass sculptures made in collaboration with Preston Singletary, when Amerman was teaching and working at Pilchuk Glass School,” says Lidchi. “[This] includes the self-portrait of Buffalo Man and his experiments with both fused and blown glass in the mid-2000s. His photographic collaborations were with Gwendolen Cates and Cara Romero, the latter focusing on Buffalo Man…”

A look at Amerman’s studio. Photo by Addison Doty.

Lidchi notes that the remaining space in the exhibition includes Amerman’s paintings that draw from 17th-century Dutch paintings and his commentary on stereotype in Apple Sauce, stemming from fruit packaging. “Also featured is his collage work and his found-object sculptures, particularly his hubcap shields, his gaming sticks from the 1990s, and his more recent rattles made with items found and collected at flea markets,” Lidchi says.

Pathfinder is on view at the Wheelwright Museum through January 11, 2025. Attendees can also experience Amerman’s most recent beadwork piece completed late last year, along with a short film by Unangaxˆ filmmaker Anna Hoover. Beginning in April, the museum will introduce special programming involving artist talks. Visit the museum website for details. 

Through January 11, 2025
Pathfinder: 40 Years of Marcus Amerman
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian 704 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe, 87505
(505) 982-4636, www.wheelwright.org

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