SITE Santa Fe opens Nani Chacon: SPECTRUM, an exhibition featuring eight newly commissioned paintings and a survey of public artworks by the New Mexico-based artist.
Nani Chacon: SPECTRUM
April 8–August 21, 2022
Opening celebration: Friday, April 8, 5-9 pm
SITE Santa Fe
Nani Chacon‘s exhibition SPECTRUM offers a new body of work exploring cultural repair and radical colonial resistance through vibrant contemporary visual storytelling. SPECTRUM draws its content from Diné creation mythology and blends it with Chacon’s own experiences as a contemporary Indigenous artist. The exhibition features eight newly commissioned large-scale paintings, a site-specific “woven mural,” and a survey of public artworks and personal archival materials.
“I have always been interested in finding my place and how I identify with creating artwork as an Indigenous person. I incorporate abstract elements of Diné imagery in my mural and illustrative practices as a way for me to create stories and bring the viewer into the artwork,” says Nani Chacon.
Alongside SPECTRUM is a triptych of newly commissioned billboards shaped by symbolism and place. Each billboard design is a reproduction of an original outdoor “mini mural,” tracing Chacon’s life path and lineage. The original mini murals are located in Mora and Albuquerque, New Mexico and Chinle, Arizona—all significant locations for Chacon. Documented, printed, and installed on the west side of SITE Santa Fe’s building, the billboards are on view throughout the exhibition.
Nani Chacon (b. 1980) is a Diné and Chicana artist born in Gallup, New Mexico. Chacon’s practice includes large-scale site-specific public artworks, drawing, installation, and design. Primarily working as a painter and muralist, she has shown nationally and internationally, creating projects that focus on community engagement, led by her personal philosophy that art should be an accessible and meaningful catalyst for social change. Her work is recognized for its unique style, using figurative subject matter to explore the complexity of contemporary Indigenous culture and identities and bringing these voices to the forefront of public arenas.
SITE Santa Fe celebrates an unforgettable exhibition with an opening reception Friday, April 8, 5-9 pm with drinks by Rolling Still Distillery, a musical performance by Ozomatli’s Raul Pacheco accompanied by The Immaculate Conception, a DJ set by Luz Skylarker, and food from Taqueria Gracias Madre.