Talk: An Interview with Ahchipaptunhe

Aurelia Gallery is honored to present Icons of the Native Northeast, a new exhibition by Native American artist Ahchipaptunhe, whose lineage reaches back twelve generations to Sachem Tamanend (Chief and Patron Saint of America). This deeply personal and historically resonant body of work bridges the sacred traditions of Indigenous numerology and geometry with the visual legacies of Renaissance and modernist art, Suprematism, in this exhibit.

In this exhibition, Ahchipaptunhe honors the great leaders of the Native Northeast, drawing upon sacred structures, bold color, and geometric forms to illuminate their enduring influence. Just as Jan van Eyck’s rays of light in The Annunciation focused divine presence upon Mary, Ahchipaptunhe channels ancestral rays of light through the figure of Tamanend, depicted in gold as a beacon across generations. Symbols of the Lenape clans—Turtle, Turkey, and Wolf—are seen throughout Ahchipaptunhe’s work.

The artist’s process pays homage to leaders such as Tamanend, who embodied generosity, morality, and strength, while rejecting false projections of what native peoples “look like.” Instead, these Icons preserve stories of resilience, achievements, and values through a contemporary visual language. The result is both a homage and a declaration: saints and cultural exemplars are not bound to one land, one time, or one people.

“Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.”
—Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief