Bidspirit auction | Frank Big Bear Abstract Prismacolor

Frank Big Bear Abstract Prismacolor Drawing 2021 - Frank Big Bear (Anishinaabe, b. 1953). Prismacolor on black illustration board drawing depicting an abstract portrait encircled by profuse wildlife motifs, 2021. Signed and dated along the lower left. Lot Essay: Frank Big Bear is an Anishinabe artist whose paintings, drawings, and collages explore themes drawn from both his personal life and his Indigenous cultural heritage. His distinctive figurative style blends elements from traditional Native American art, Cubism, and Surrealism with references to history, religion, pop culture, and science. Big Bear was born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and raised on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Northern Minnesota. His family moved to Minneapolis in 1968, where he attended North High School and the University of Minnesota. During these early years, Big Bear was encouraged and influenced by the teachers and artists around him, including the renowned Native American artist George Morrison, whom Big Bear studied with briefly. Big Bear is best known for his drawings made with Prismacolor pencils in which faces, figures, and abstract shapes fill the space with vibrant colors and dynamic scenes. During the 1980s and early 1990s, his work also explored personal themes, such as family and cultural identity, in addition to political issues affecting Native people. His artworks have been collected and shown by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, and the North Dakota Museum of Art in Grand Forks, among others. He has received grants from the Jerome Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, and United States Artists. In 2008, Big Bear was awarded the Bush Foundation’s ”Enduring Vision Award” for his contribution to the arts in Minnesota. Set within abstract, fantastical worlds, Big Bear’s work intertwines personal and political themes to explore identity and broader Native American experiences. Sight; height: 30 in x width: 20 in. Framed; height: 35 1/2 in x width: 25 1/2 in x depth: 1 3/4 in. Condition: There are no visible tears, losses, or signs of repair. Floated in frame atop a nonacidic mat. Framed under plexiglass. Light wear to the frame. Not inspected out of frame.