CANNUPA HANSKA LUGER

– CANNUPA HANSKA LUGER –

Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota, 1979—

Cannupa Hanska Luger is a multidisciplinary artist of Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota, and European descent. The artist is widely acknowledged for his socially engaged and innovative practice. Born in North Dakota, Luger grew up on the Standing Rock Reservation, an experience that deeply influenced his work, which often addresses critical issues faced by Indigenous communities, such as land sovereignty, environmental justice, and cultural resilience. Luger studied studio arts and ceramics at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), where he began exploring how art could be a vehicle for activism and storytelling. 

Luger's work brilliantly incorporates ceramics, mixed media, installation, video, and performance, blending traditional Indigenous craftsmanship with contemporary media. He is well known for his "Mirror Shield Project" in 2016, which achieved iconic status during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock. His work confronts themes of identity, decolonization, and the innumerable ways in which Native cultures have survived and adapted in the face of historical and ongoing oppression. 

Cannupa Hanska Luger has exhibited at major art Institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Gardiner Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum and the National Gallery of Art. His work is included in prominent museum collections including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Yale University Art Gallery, the Denver Art Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, among many others.