John Feodorov (Navajo)

John Feodorov Catalogue

John Feodorov is a conceptual artist whose work addresses contemporary issues of consumerism, the environment, and identity. Funding for this project will supported the creation of mixed media assemblages, 2D works, and a looped video production that topically explore the BP oil spill and delve deeper into broader issues concerning our connection and disconnection to the natural world, identity, and place. According to John, the solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe was a "pivotal stage" in his career as an artist. He says, "The work in this exhibition is a culmination of my concerns over our alienation from Nature and our growing disconnection, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and culturally with Place and Land. The works included in the show, while potentially dystopian, are also warnings, not unlike mythology found worldwide. The work for this exhibit also allowed me to further explore issues of Identity - something that has become more and more important to my work over the years."

The exhibit was met with acclaim and analysis with critics moving back and forth between the prophetic nature of the work and the metaphor that exists in the movement "from one world to the next" that permeates Native mythologies. John continues his path as a singular voice in Native Arts. Born in Los Angeles, John spent summers at this grandparents homestead in the White Horse region of New Mexico. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Western Washington University in Bellingham Washington. In 2001 he was featured in the first season of the PBS television series, “Art 21: Art for the 21st Century” as well as in the companion book published by Harry N. Abrams. He served as an Arts Commissioner for the City of Seattle, worked as an artist/educator for non-profit youth groups such as Arts Corps and Red Eagle Soaring.