Portrait of Shelley Niro
Hales is delighted to announce representation of Canada-based artist Shelley Niro. Her work is included in Hales' upcoming presentation at Art Basel Miami Beach from 5 - 8 December 2024, and a solo show of her work will open at Hales New York in 2025. Niro's first major retrospective Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch was first presented at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, New York, NY, USA in 2024 and is currently on view at Vancouver Art Gallery, BC, Canada.
Shelley Niro (b. 1954, Niagara Falls, New York) is a multi-disciplinary artist and a member of the Turtle Clan of the Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk) Nation, from the Six Nations of the Grand River territory. In an oeuvre spanning four decades, Niro has developed an influential and visionary practice that foregrounds the representation of indigenous people, their history, and present-day experience, often centering the stories of women. Working across multiple media, including painting, photography, video, sculpture, beadwork, printmaking and collage, Niro's urgent work advocates for the importance of self-representation.
Shelley Niro (b. 1954, Niagara Falls, New York) is a multi-disciplinary artist and a member of the Turtle Clan of the Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk) Nation, from the Six Nations of the Grand River territory. In an oeuvre spanning four decades, Niro has developed an influential and visionary practice that foregrounds the representation of indigenous people, their history, and present-day experience, often centering the stories of women. Working across multiple media, including painting, photography, video, sculpture, beadwork, printmaking and collage, Niro's urgent work advocates for the importance of self-representation.
Niro's practice delves into the timeless cultural knowledge and generational histories of her Haudenosaunee community, Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast America. The preservation of tradition and ritual is important to Niro, and this manifests in her work in material, aesthetic and conceptual ways. Oral histories as well as traditional modes of making, such as beadwork, are interwoven with contemporary and daily life. Niro 'consistently folds her understanding of past, her observance of present, and her dreams of future onto an organic whole that is both forthcoming and fearless.'
In realistic and symbolic portrayals of identity - Niro advocates indigenous visibility, focusing on bonds of friendship, family and matriarchy. Pictorial allegories of herself and her community act as a commemorative, continuous archive, which connects personal narratives to a wider political and social commentary. Across her career, she explores archetypes of both men and women with nuance, playing with subtle visual ironies to challenge preconceived views. Her use of humor combined with popular references are a tool to reveal layered and complex legacies.
A continuous thread throughout Niro's work is her connection to the natural world, drawing on personal and collective memory of place. Imagery of the land, sky, moon and cosmos are drawn directly from indigenous stories - modern incarnations of legends become foundational in evoking strength throughout her work. Honoring cultural practices, whilst also shaping new pathways of exploration, Niro contributes to a long rich history of indigenous story telling.
November 26, 2024
