George Alexander (artist)

George Alexander (Ofuskie) (born 1990) is a Muscogee contemporary painter who focuses on American Indian heritage. A common motif in his artwork is the astronaut on horseback. His work has been featured in major metropolitan museums including the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

Biography

Portrait of the Artist via Linktree Photo

George Alexander also known as; "Ofuskie", is a Muscogee Creek painter that is currently residing in Santa Fe, New Mexico. George Alexander, Muscogee heritage is passed down to him by his father. His mother on the other hand was white which makes George Alexander mixed with half Muscogee and half white. Ofuskie is a Muscogee Creek Nation Citizen. Currently he owns a studio in Santa Fe Plaza, which is located in Downtown Santa Fe in New Mexico named Ofuskie.

His passion and drive for creating art derives from a place of traumatic experience. As both his parents were both gravely ill that they will spend a good time in the hospital. To pass the time during this time George Alexander began to draw. Unfortunately his parents passed away 8 months from each other, George Alexander was only 14 years old at the time. He comes from a large family consisting of one older brother, five older sisters and it was his older sister, Myra, who raised him after his parents' deaths.

Muscogee Creek Indian Tribe

The tribe are descendants of the Mississippian culture throughout the whole Mississippi River Valley and Floodplain approx 800-1540 CE. It wasn't until the 1540 that European constant was first made as described in Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto. In the year 1793 Assimilation was starting to become more obvious as everyone was wearing European clothing and the lifestyle with a reconstructed government. In 1836, The Indian Removal Act of 1830 they were forced off their land and moved to Indian Territory. In 1934 and 1936, Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and Oklahoma Indian Wellfare Act of 1936 allowing them to reorganize and giving them the right to have their own government. The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 made the Bill of Rights include and protected American Indians rights.

With the Removal of the Muscogee Creek Nation from Alabama and Georgia to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Then when given the statehood in 1907, they already shaped a new homeland in an area in the south of Tulsa, Oklahoma; this event is known as the Trial of Tears.

Muscogee Creek Indian Tribe ceremonial attire includes turtle shells that are inseparable part of their tradition. Men are required to sing and the women "shake shells" and are in a male-female pattern lining up in a counter-clockwise forming a spiral around the central fire. This is all part that the ceremony is attempt to restore harmony on earth through prayer, song, dedication, sacrifice, and most importantly, love.

Education

George Alexander since a kid was interested in the arts, for his undergraduate studies he ended up getting a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2015 from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). A few years later he ended up pursuing his graduate studies internationally in Florence, Italy at Studio Art College International (SACI) with a Masters in Fine Arts in 2019.

Art

His art style would fall under surrealism due to the dreamlike realism in his paintings. His artwork consists of imagery that goes against the notion of what is considered "Native Art" by using contemporary indigenous culture. Ofuskie is well known for paintings with a figure on a horseback wearing an astronaut head. George Alexander medium of choice for his paintings is acrylic paint. Apart from painting Alexander, also partakes on selling stickers on ntinues into future generations. One object that has become a motif for him is an astronaut helmet, it is so big that majority of his work revolves around that space gear.

You Found Me, You Should Never Have Never Lost Me

Ofuskie is well known for his painting You Found Me, You Should Have Never Lost Me was showcased in an exhibition The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans curated by artist Jayne Quick-to-See-Smith (Salish and Kootenai) in Washington, D.C. at the National Gallery of Art. This painting has a shirtless male figure wearing astronaut helmet riding on a horseback in an alleyway in a city. The medium for this painting is Acrylic paint on canvas 30 in. x 40 in. Apart from subject matter the colors used are complementary colors composing of primarily of shades of oranges and blues. The figure riding on a horseback in an alleyway makes this painting very surreal because the placement of the subject matter in an environment like an alleyway is not something you expect to see at all, let alone a astronaut helmet.

Ain't From Around These Parts

Another great example of his astronaut head figure horseback paintings and pushing the boundaries of Native Art is Ain't From Around These Parts a diptych acrylic painting measuring together to 66 in. X 66 in. A diptych are two pieces that make one body of work; for example, in this painting its two canvases that make one painting. The artist made this painting as part of a vision he has for humanity. The horse and astronaut rider are on a journey to a find where they feel they belong to and looking for a purpose. He hopes for humanity to lookout for one another, rather just themselves. This painting has a lot of earthy tones that is usually found in southwestern native art, but the subject matter is what set this apart from the traditional native art.

Multidimensional

Lastly, one other painting worth mentioning is his painting MultiDimensional as it is his most expressive piece in his portfolio. This is an acrylic painting on canvas that is 48 in. x 60 in. Compared to the other paintings on this article the gesture of the cosmic rider and the horse are captured along with the abstracted background with expressive mark making. The drips and the fluidity with everything not being completely blended like his paintings he is known for, it is almost like you can feel the emotions that was performed. The gesture painted cosmic figure along with the horse shows that the main focus is the mark making and the emotions captured with each stroke of the brush.

Publications and features

Publications:

• Smith, Jaune Quick-to-See, et al. The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans. National Gallery of Art, 2023, pp. 40.
• Horse With No Name, by George Alexander was featured on the cover of the 2023 Santa Fe Indian Market Booth Guide produced by Hutton Broadcasting and the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts.

Features:

• Western Art & Architecture: Two Dimensions
• Hyperallergic: Curator Christina Burke Picks Five Artists to Watch From Indian Market
• Smithsonian Magazine: From Dazzling Art to Striking Vistas, Experience Something Different in Santa Fe
• The Washington Post: In the Galleries
• The DCist: How To Celebrate Native American Heritage Month Around DC
• Forbes: The World's Greatest Art Fair
• Tulsa People: Healing Through Art

Bibliography

1. Agency, Wend. 2023. "Two Dimensions." Western Art & Architecture. July 6, 2023. https://westernartandarchitecture.com/august-september-2023/two-dimensions
2. Harper, Braden. 2024. "Ofuskie Projects His Passion for Painting and Indigenous People through Acrylics." MVSKOKE Media. April 12, 2024. https://www.mvskokemedia.com/ofuskie-projects-his-passion-for-painting-and-indigenous-people-through-acrylics/.
3. Hurt, Douglas A (2000). The shaping of a Creek (Muscogee) homeland in Indian territory, 1828–1907 (Thesis). ProQuest 304613394.
4. Jansen, Steve. 2023. "Work in Progress with George Alexander." Southwest Contemporary. October 27, 2023. https://southwestcontemporary.com/george-alexander-studio-visit/.
5. McLean, Ian (2013). "Contemporaneous Traditions: The World in Indigenous Art/ Indigenous Art in the World". Humanities Research. 19 (2): 47–60. ProQuest 1418181122.
6. Mitchell, Natasha (Winter 2012). "The Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band Association Seeks Federal Recognition as a Tribe". The Crisis. 119 (1): 51. ProQuest 1293357236.
7. Morphy, Howard (2001). "Seeing Aboriginal Art in the Gallery". Humanities Research. 8 (1): 37–50.
8. "Multidimensional by George Alexander | Amy Kaslow Gallery." n.d. Amykaslowgallery.com. Accessed May 5, 2024. https://amykaslowgallery.com/art/multidimensional-by-george-alexander.
9. "'MultiDimensional.'" n.d. Ofuskie. Accessed May 5, 2024. https://www.ofuskie.com/shop/p/multidimensional.
10. "Ofuskie." ofuskie. Accessed February 24, 2024. https://www.ofuskie.com/.
11. Smith, Jaune Quick-to-See, Joy Harjo, and Shana Bushyhead Condill. The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans. Princeton University Press, 2023.
12. "Visit the Muscogee Nation." 2023. October 3, 2023. http://mvskoketourism.com/.
13. "You Found Me, You Should Have Never Lost Me." n.d. THE HORSEMAN FOUNDATION. Accessed May 5, 2024. https://www.thehorsemanfoundation.org/you-found-me-you-should-have-never-lost-me.