The Armory Show | Booth 313: Jordan Ann Craig

For the 2024 edition of The Armory Show, Hales is pleased to present a new body of large-scale paintings by New Mexico-based artist Jordan Ann Craig (Northern Cheyenne). Craig is known for vibrant and often densely composed paintings which are characterized by a dynamic exploration and interpretation of Northern Cheyenne and Cheyenne material culture. Craig’s solo exhibition at the Block Museum, Northwestern University, IL opens January 2025. 

Craig’s most recent paintings are her largest and most complex to date, deepening her use of color, pattern and bolder geometric schemes. In expansive compositions of repeated forms, she considers spatial relationships — experimenting with different orientations in her ongoing series of Sharp Tongue works as well as framing devices to emphasize the edge of the canvas. Each intricate painting has an underlying grid which unifies her exploration of the languages of modern abstract painting and its relationship to both historic and contemporary Indigenous culture.  

Craig's practice is grounded in research, which begins in museum collections and archives.  Her pictorial vocabulary builds upon the initial inspiration of Northern Cheyenne and Cheyenne beadwork, quillwork, drawings and textiles, which can be seen in specific recurring patterning.  Through the process of painting Craig meditates on the personal and collective significance of the designs, sensitively exploring a connection to both her heritage and identity.   

Craig (b. 1992 San Jose, CA, USA) received her BA in Studio Art and Psychology from Dartmouth College in 2015. She lives and works in Pojoaque Valley, New Mexico.    

Craig has had solo exhibitions at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, NM; School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe, NM; The Guesthouse, Cork, Ireland; Scuola Internazionale di Grafica Venezia, Italy; Nearburg Gallery, Black Family Visual Arts Center, Hanover, NH; October Gallery, London, UK; and Barrows Rotunda, Dartmouth College, NH. Craig has been included in numerous group shows including McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, CA, USA; The Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM; Trout Museum of Art, WI; Berkeley Arts Center, CA; Rainmaker Gallery, Bristol, UK; October Gallery, London, UK; Santa Fe Community Convention Center, NM; El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, NM; Fort Worth Community Arts Center, TX; Jaffe-Friede Gallery, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH; Seven Stars Art Center, Sharon, VT; Black Family Visual Arts Center, Hanover, NH. 

Selected collections include Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, NH; Wichita Art Museum, KS; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR; Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, NM; IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM; Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, KS; Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA; School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe, NM; A LAB, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Cork Printmakers, Ireland; Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM and Forge Collection, Taghkanic, NY. 

Craig has participated in numerous artist residency programmes nationally and internationally, including The Golden Paint Art Residency, New Berlin, NY; the Native American Artist Residency, School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe, NM; the Roswell Artist-in-Residence (RAiR Foundation) fellowship, NM; the Ucross Foundation, Clearmont, Wyoming; Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Artist Residency, Santa Fe, NM; East London Printmakers Project Keyholder Residency, London, UK; Cork Printmakers International Visiting Artist Residency, Cork City, Ireland; and Scuola Internazionale di Grafica Venezia, Italy among others.