New Exhibition Featuring Andrea Lekberg (Oglala Sioux)

Andrea Lekberg - Threads Of Home

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

April 4, 2018

RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA: The Sioux Indian Museum, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, will feature an exhibit of artwork by Andrea Lekberg.  The exhibition will run from April 27 through July 9, 2018.  The exhibition is free and open to the public. 

Andrea Lekberg, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is both a visual and culinary artist.  She is currently working with large scale textiles, which are painted and adorned with various found materials.  Additionally, she is the owner and pastry chef at a boutique bakery and café, The Artist Baker in Morristown, New Jersey.  She holds a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and is a graduate of the Pastry Program at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago.  Although raised in Illinois, Andrea spent her childhood summers near her family home in Martin, South Dakota. 

Inspiration for her current work comes from the landscapes around Martin, South Dakota.  During her summer visits to the Pine Ridge Reservation she felt a deep connection to the land and people.  The patterns, colors, and lines found in traditional Sioux artwork deeply influences her contemporary work.  To create the artwork for this exhibition, Andrea used hemmed canvases that were left unstretched so that they would lay flat; they resemble painted hides.  A clear gesso is applied to the fabric and then acrylic paints complete the composition.  Found natural materials collected near the family home in Martin, South Dakota, are eventually applied to the canvases. 

The body of work in this exhibition revolves around Oglala artistic traditions and the local environment. Linen canvases are tied to represent spiritual strength and fringed to imply movement.  They also represent Andrea’s cultural identity as a member of the Oglala Sioux, and the relevance of the Tribe in contemporary society. 

Prices for the artwork can be obtained by contacting The Journey Museum Store at (605) 394-2201.  To purchase artwork after the exhibit closes, please contact Andrea Lekberg via email at theartistbaker@gmail.com.

* Exhibition brochure 

The Sioux Indian Museum, managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, is located in The Journey Museum, 222 New York Street, Rapid City, SD 57701.  For admission fees and hours of operation please call (605) 394-6923.