Grantee: Kevin Pourier
Native Citizenship: Oglala Lakota
Location: Scenic, S.D.
Award: 2014 NACF Regional Artist Fellowship
Discipline: Traditional Art
Web Site: http://kevinpourier.com
With the support of a 2014 NACF Regional Artist Fellowship, Pourier will create a body of work addressing pressing issues Native peoples face today. “Being fully aware of what it means to be human is an empowering experience,” said the artist from his studio in Scenic, S.D. “In my work, I try to pull the viewer in and put them in Native peoples’ shoes. My hope is the new pieces I will create during my fellowship year will also bring about healing by creating discussion.”
Kevin Pourier (Oglala Lakota) has been carving Buffalo horn on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota for about 20 years. Pourier is one of the only artists in the country working in the medium of incised buffalo horn. The works he produces carry forward Lakota artistic practices for creating spoons and vessels of sublime beauty from the horns of the revered animal. His carvings reveal the beauty he sees in the world around us, utilizing imagery intent on inspiring thought, growth and creating the opportunity for education.
As part of his fellowship, Pourier will be giving an artist talk about his work at the 2015 NAASA Conference in Santa Fe, N.M.
