Born and raised in the Crow Indian Nation of Lodge Grass, Montana, Kevin Red Star’s family, heritage, and abundance of visual experience serve as his palette. He conjuries evocative images of his ancestral Apsaalooke – its culture, and its history. His work is as personal as it is universal.

Red Star’s formal art education began at the Institute of American Indian Art (IAIA) when he was selected to be among the first 150 students for this experimental Native American art school in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here he was exposed to various mediums and expressions of art, learning the fundamentals of art from the finest Native American teachers. In 1974, Red Star was asked to return to IAIA to participate in their Artist-in-Residence program. While in Santa Fe, he expanded his art to include stone lithography, serigraphs and etchings.

Red Star later attended the San Francisco Art Institute. As a Freshman he was awarded the Govenor’s Trophy, and the Al and Helen Baker Award from the Scottsdale National Indian Arts Exhibition. Red Star continued his studies at Montana State University-Bozeman, and Eastern Montana College-Billings.

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Levis Fine Art Nantucket

Form + Figure Exhibition

July 17-August 6^th, 2009

 

While the “figure” has held a prominent position in the imagery of art since the prehistoric period, the development of 20^th century modern ideologies provided the catalyst for the elements of “form”, i.e. color, shape, dimension, and line, to take an equally prominent role as the subject.   Consequently, the artistic language of this period was grounded in abstraction, an alternative style believed to be more effective in addressing the modern concerns of humanity. “New needs require new techniques”, stated Jackson Pollock in defense of abstraction, “…the modern painter cannot express this age– the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio–in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any past culture”. 

 

For centuries, art relied on the “figure” as a subject, while the formal qualities of art developed separately: the simplicity of Egyptian line, the minute detail of Roman dimension, the exaggerated palette of Fauvist color, and the defragmentation of Cubist shape and composition.  The 20^th century abstract artist developed a new vocabulary for expression, one which successfully captured both the nuances of their uncertainty and the confidence of their instinct.  In exploring the formal qualities of art, these artists denounced the figure, or object, as the subject and consequently the art became a reflection of the artist’s inner thought. As Robert Motherwell poignantly stated, “Most painting in the European tradition was painting the mask. Modern art rejected all that. Our subject matter was the person behind the mask.” 

Abstract art is infused with the energy, innovation and colors that artistically embody the essence of the changing American nation during the 20^th century.  Paralleling the major advances in modern technology, nuclear and atomic warfare, science, photography, and aeronautics, the dominant art of the period suggests an entirely new relationship between the artist, the art, and the viewer.  As a result, a new desire for subjectivity for both subject and form developed, allowing artists the freedom to express their own artistic concerns as finished compositions.  For many, the process of discovery became an “arena in which to act” and therefore the process became equally integral to the work as a finished composition.  As noted art historian Robert Rosenblum stated,”these works are so radical in their breaks with the conventions of the easel picture—they are lighthouses of art that can illuminate a vast territory.” 

 

The artists whose works are included in this exhibition successfully represent the fundamental ideologies associated with the abstract movement within 20^th century modernism.  Their representations of both “figure” and “form” remain a testament to their importance within our artistic and cultural history, which has subsequently become the foundation for contemporary visual expression.

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Levis Fine Art Nantucket

Form + Figure Exhibition

July 17-August 6^th, 2009

 

While the “figure” has held a prominent position in the imagery of art since the prehistoric period, the development of 20^th century modern ideologies provided the catalyst for the elements of “form”, i.e. color, shape, dimension, and line, to take an equally prominent role as the subject.   Consequently, the artistic language of this period was grounded in abstraction, an alternative style believed to be more effective in addressing the modern concerns of humanity. “New needs require new techniques”, stated Jackson Pollock in defense of abstraction, “…the modern painter cannot express this age– the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio–in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any past culture”. 

 

For centuries, art relied on the “figure” as a subject, while the formal qualities of art developed separately: the simplicity of Egyptian line, the minute detail of Roman dimension, the exaggerated palette of Fauvist color, and the defragmentation of Cubist shape and composition.  The 20^th century abstract artist developed a new vocabulary for expression, one which successfully captured both the nuances of their uncertainty and the confidence of their instinct.  In exploring the formal qualities of art, these artists denounced the figure, or object, as the subject and consequently the art became a reflection of the artist’s inner thought. As Robert Motherwell poignantly stated, “Most painting in the European tradition was painting the mask. Modern art rejected all that. Our subject matter was the person behind the mask.” 

Abstract art is infused with the energy, innovation and colors that artistically embody the essence of the changing American nation during the 20^th century.  Paralleling the major advances in modern technology, nuclear and atomic warfare, science, photography, and aeronautics, the dominant art of the period suggests an entirely new relationship between the artist, the art, and the viewer.  As a result, a new desire for subjectivity for both subject and form developed, allowing artists the freedom to express their own artistic concerns as finished compositions.  For many, the process of discovery became an “arena in which to act” and therefore the process became equally integral to the work as a finished composition.  As noted art historian Robert Rosenblum stated,”these works are so radical in their breaks with the conventions of the easel picture—they are lighthouses of art that can illuminate a vast territory.” 

 

The artists whose works are included in this exhibition successfully represent the fundamental ideologies associated with the abstract movement within 20^th century modernism.  Their representations of both “figure” and “form” remain a testament to their importance within our artistic and cultural history, which has subsequently become the foundation for contemporary visual expression.

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Levis Fine Art Nantucket

Form + Figure Exhibition

July 17-August 6^th, 2009

 

While the “figure” has held a prominent position in the imagery of art since the prehistoric period, the development of 20^th century modern ideologies provided the catalyst for the elements of “form”, i.e. color, shape, dimension, and line, to take an equally prominent role as the subject.   Consequently, the artistic language of this period was grounded in abstraction, an alternative style believed to be more effective in addressing the modern concerns of humanity. “New needs require new techniques”, stated Jackson Pollock in defense of abstraction, “…the modern painter cannot express this age– the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio–in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any past culture”. 

 

For centuries, art relied on the “figure” as a subject, while the formal qualities of art developed separately: the simplicity of Egyptian line, the minute detail of Roman dimension, the exaggerated palette of Fauvist color, and the defragmentation of Cubist shape and composition.  The 20^th century abstract artist developed a new vocabulary for expression, one which successfully captured both the nuances of their uncertainty and the confidence of their instinct.  In exploring the formal qualities of art, these artists denounced the figure, or object, as the subject and consequently the art became a reflection of the artist’s inner thought. As Robert Motherwell poignantly stated, “Most painting in the European tradition was painting the mask. Modern art rejected all that. Our subject matter was the person behind the mask.” 

Abstract art is infused with the energy, innovation and colors that artistically embody the essence of the changing American nation during the 20^th century.  Paralleling the major advances in modern technology, nuclear and atomic warfare, science, photography, and aeronautics, the dominant art of the period suggests an entirely new relationship between the artist, the art, and the viewer.  As a result, a new desire for subjectivity for both subject and form developed, allowing artists the freedom to express their own artistic concerns as finished compositions.  For many, the process of discovery became an “arena in which to act” and therefore the process became equally integral to the work as a finished composition.  As noted art historian Robert Rosenblum stated,”these works are so radical in their breaks with the conventions of the easel picture—they are lighthouses of art that can illuminate a vast territory.” 

 

The artists whose works are included in this exhibition successfully represent the fundamental ideologies associated with the abstract movement within 20^th century modernism.  Their representations of both “figure” and “form” remain a testament to their importance within our artistic and cultural history, which has subsequently become the foundation for contemporary visual expression.

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Levis Fine Art Nantucket

Form + Figure Exhibition

July 17-August 6^th, 2009

 

While the “figure” has held a prominent position in the imagery of art since the prehistoric period, the development of 20^th century modern ideologies provided the catalyst for the elements of “form”, i.e. color, shape, dimension, and line, to take an equally prominent role as the subject.   Consequently, the artistic language of this period was grounded in abstraction, an alternative style believed to be more effective in addressing the modern concerns of humanity. “New needs require new techniques”, stated Jackson Pollock in defense of abstraction, “…the modern painter cannot express this age– the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio–in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any past culture”. 

 

For centuries, art relied on the “figure” as a subject, while the formal qualities of art developed separately: the simplicity of Egyptian line, the minute detail of Roman dimension, the exaggerated palette of Fauvist color, and the defragmentation of Cubist shape and composition.  The 20^th century abstract artist developed a new vocabulary for expression, one which successfully captured both the nuances of their uncertainty and the confidence of their instinct.  In exploring the formal qualities of art, these artists denounced the figure, or object, as the subject and consequently the art became a reflection of the artist’s inner thought. As Robert Motherwell poignantly stated, “Most painting in the European tradition was painting the mask. Modern art rejected all that. Our subject matter was the person behind the mask.” 

Abstract art is infused with the energy, innovation and colors that artistically embody the essence of the changing American nation during the 20^th century.  Paralleling the major advances in modern technology, nuclear and atomic warfare, science, photography, and aeronautics, the dominant art of the period suggests an entirely new relationship between the artist, the art, and the viewer.  As a result, a new desire for subjectivity for both subject and form developed, allowing artists the freedom to express their own artistic concerns as finished compositions.  For many, the process of discovery became an “arena in which to act” and therefore the process became equally integral to the work as a finished composition.  As noted art historian Robert Rosenblum stated,”these works are so radical in their breaks with the conventions of the easel picture—they are lighthouses of art that can illuminate a vast territory.” 

 

The artists whose works are included in this exhibition successfully represent the fundamental ideologies associated with the abstract movement within 20^th century modernism.  Their representations of both “figure” and “form” remain a testament to their importance within our artistic and cultural history, which has subsequently become the foundation for contemporary visual expression.

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Levis Fine Art Nantucket

Form + Figure Exhibition

July 17-August 6^th, 2009

 

While the “figure” has held a prominent position in the imagery of art since the prehistoric period, the development of 20^th century modern ideologies provided the catalyst for the elements of “form”, i.e. color, shape, dimension, and line, to take an equally prominent role as the subject.   Consequently, the artistic language of this period was grounded in abstraction, an alternative style believed to be more effective in addressing the modern concerns of humanity. “New needs require new techniques”, stated Jackson Pollock in defense of abstraction, “…the modern painter cannot express this age– the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio–in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any past culture”. 

 

For centuries, art relied on the “figure” as a subject, while the formal qualities of art developed separately: the simplicity of Egyptian line, the minute detail of Roman dimension, the exaggerated palette of Fauvist color, and the defragmentation of Cubist shape and composition.  The 20^th century abstract artist developed a new vocabulary for expression, one which successfully captured both the nuances of their uncertainty and the confidence of their instinct.  In exploring the formal qualities of art, these artists denounced the figure, or object, as the subject and consequently the art became a reflection of the artist’s inner thought. As Robert Motherwell poignantly stated, “Most painting in the European tradition was painting the mask. Modern art rejected all that. Our subject matter was the person behind the mask.” 

Abstract art is infused with the energy, innovation and colors that artistically embody the essence of the changing American nation during the 20^th century.  Paralleling the major advances in modern technology, nuclear and atomic warfare, science, photography, and aeronautics, the dominant art of the period suggests an entirely new relationship between the artist, the art, and the viewer.  As a result, a new desire for subjectivity for both subject and form developed, allowing artists the freedom to express their own artistic concerns as finished compositions.  For many, the process of discovery became an “arena in which to act” and therefore the process became equally integral to the work as a finished composition.  As noted art historian Robert Rosenblum stated,”these works are so radical in their breaks with the conventions of the easel picture—they are lighthouses of art that can illuminate a vast territory.” 

 

The artists whose works are included in this exhibition successfully represent the fundamental ideologies associated with the abstract movement within 20^th century modernism.  Their representations of both “figure” and “form” remain a testament to their importance within our artistic and cultural history, which has subsequently become the foundation for contemporary visual expression.

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Levis Fine Art Nantucket

Form + Figure Exhibition

July 17-August 6^th, 2009

 

While the “figure” has held a prominent position in the imagery of art since the prehistoric period, the development of 20^th century modern ideologies provided the catalyst for the elements of “form”, i.e. color, shape, dimension, and line, to take an equally prominent role as the subject.   Consequently, the artistic language of this period was grounded in abstraction, an alternative style believed to be more effective in addressing the modern concerns of humanity. “New needs require new techniques”, stated Jackson Pollock in defense of abstraction, “…the modern painter cannot express this age– the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio–in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any past culture”. 

 

For centuries, art relied on the “figure” as a subject, while the formal qualities of art developed separately: the simplicity of Egyptian line, the minute detail of Roman dimension, the exaggerated palette of Fauvist color, and the defragmentation of Cubist shape and composition.  The 20^th century abstract artist developed a new vocabulary for expression, one which successfully captured both the nuances of their uncertainty and the confidence of their instinct.  In exploring the formal qualities of art, these artists denounced the figure, or object, as the subject and consequently the art became a reflection of the artist’s inner thought. As Robert Motherwell poignantly stated, “Most painting in the European tradition was painting the mask. Modern art rejected all that. Our subject matter was the person behind the mask.” 

Abstract art is infused with the energy, innovation and colors that artistically embody the essence of the changing American nation during the 20^th century.  Paralleling the major advances in modern technology, nuclear and atomic warfare, science, photography, and aeronautics, the dominant art of the period suggests an entirely new relationship between the artist, the art, and the viewer.  As a result, a new desire for subjectivity for both subject and form developed, allowing artists the freedom to express their own artistic concerns as finished compositions.  For many, the process of discovery became an “arena in which to act” and therefore the process became equally integral to the work as a finished composition.  As noted art historian Robert Rosenblum stated,”these works are so radical in their breaks with the conventions of the easel picture—they are lighthouses of art that can illuminate a vast territory.” 

 

The artists whose works are included in this exhibition successfully represent the fundamental ideologies associated with the abstract movement within 20^th century modernism.  Their representations of both “figure” and “form” remain a testament to their importance within our artistic and cultural history, which has subsequently become the foundation for contemporary visual expression.

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Levis Fine Art Nantucket

Form + Figure Exhibition

July 17-August 6^th, 2009

 

While the “figure” has held a prominent position in the imagery of art since the prehistoric period, the development of 20^th century modern ideologies provided the catalyst for the elements of “form”, i.e. color, shape, dimension, and line, to take an equally prominent role as the subject.   Consequently, the artistic language of this period was grounded in abstraction, an alternative style believed to be more effective in addressing the modern concerns of humanity. “New needs require new techniques”, stated Jackson Pollock in defense of abstraction, “…the modern painter cannot express this age– the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio–in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any past culture”. 

 

For centuries, art relied on the “figure” as a subject, while the formal qualities of art developed separately: the simplicity of Egyptian line, the minute detail of Roman dimension, the exaggerated palette of Fauvist color, and the defragmentation of Cubist shape and composition.  The 20^th century abstract artist developed a new vocabulary for expression, one which successfully captured both the nuances of their uncertainty and the confidence of their instinct.  In exploring the formal qualities of art, these artists denounced the figure, or object, as the subject and consequently the art became a reflection of the artist’s inner thought. As Robert Motherwell poignantly stated, “Most painting in the European tradition was painting the mask. Modern art rejected all that. Our subject matter was the person behind the mask.” 

Abstract art is infused with the energy, innovation and colors that artistically embody the essence of the changing American nation during the 20^th century.  Paralleling the major advances in modern technology, nuclear and atomic warfare, science, photography, and aeronautics, the dominant art of the period suggests an entirely new relationship between the artist, the art, and the viewer.  As a result, a new desire for subjectivity for both subject and form developed, allowing artists the freedom to express their own artistic concerns as finished compositions.  For many, the process of discovery became an “arena in which to act” and therefore the process became equally integral to the work as a finished composition.  As noted art historian Robert Rosenblum stated,”these works are so radical in their breaks with the conventions of the easel picture—they are lighthouses of art that can illuminate a vast territory.” 

 

The artists whose works are included in this exhibition successfully represent the fundamental ideologies associated with the abstract movement within 20^th century modernism.  Their representations of both “figure” and “form” remain a testament to their importance within our artistic and cultural history, which has subsequently become the foundation for contemporary visual expression.

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Levis Fine Art Nantucket

Form + Figure Exhibition

July 17-August 6^th, 2009

 

While the “figure” has held a prominent position in the imagery of art since the prehistoric period, the development of 20^th century modern ideologies provided the catalyst for the elements of “form”, i.e. color, shape, dimension, and line, to take an equally prominent role as the subject.   Consequently, the artistic language of this period was grounded in abstraction, an alternative style believed to be more effective in addressing the modern concerns of humanity. “New needs require new techniques”, stated Jackson Pollock in defense of abstraction, “…the modern painter cannot express this age– the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio–in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any past culture”. 

 

For centuries, art relied on the “figure” as a subject, while the formal qualities of art developed separately: the simplicity of Egyptian line, the minute detail of Roman dimension, the exaggerated palette of Fauvist color, and the defragmentation of Cubist shape and composition.  The 20^th century abstract artist developed a new vocabulary for expression, one which successfully captured both the nuances of their uncertainty and the confidence of their instinct.  In exploring the formal qualities of art, these artists denounced the figure, or object, as the subject and consequently the art became a reflection of the artist’s inner thought. As Robert Motherwell poignantly stated, “Most painting in the European tradition was painting the mask. Modern art rejected all that. Our subject matter was the person behind the mask.” 

Abstract art is infused with the energy, innovation and colors that artistically embody the essence of the changing American nation during the 20^th century.  Paralleling the major advances in modern technology, nuclear and atomic warfare, science, photography, and aeronautics, the dominant art of the period suggests an entirely new relationship between the artist, the art, and the viewer.  As a result, a new desire for subjectivity for both subject and form developed, allowing artists the freedom to express their own artistic concerns as finished compositions.  For many, the process of discovery became an “arena in which to act” and therefore the process became equally integral to the work as a finished composition.  As noted art historian Robert Rosenblum stated,”these works are so radical in their breaks with the conventions of the easel picture—they are lighthouses of art that can illuminate a vast territory.” 

 

The artists whose works are included in this exhibition successfully represent the fundamental ideologies associated with the abstract movement within 20^th century modernism.  Their representations of both “figure” and “form” remain a testament to their importance within our artistic and cultural history, which has subsequently become the foundation for contemporary visual expression.

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Levis Fine Art Nantucket

Form + Figure Exhibition

July 17-August 6^th, 2009

 

While the “figure” has held a prominent position in the imagery of art since the prehistoric period, the development of 20^th century modern ideologies provided the catalyst for the elements of “form”, i.e. color, shape, dimension, and line, to take an equally prominent role as the subject.   Consequently, the artistic language of this period was grounded in abstraction, an alternative style believed to be more effective in addressing the modern concerns of humanity. “New needs require new techniques”, stated Jackson Pollock in defense of abstraction, “…the modern painter cannot express this age– the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio–in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any past culture”. 

 

For centuries, art relied on the “figure” as a subject, while the formal qualities of art developed separately: the simplicity of Egyptian line, the minute detail of Roman dimension, the exaggerated palette of Fauvist color, and the defragmentation of Cubist shape and composition.  The 20^th century abstract artist developed a new vocabulary for expression, one which successfully captured both the nuances of their uncertainty and the confidence of their instinct.  In exploring the formal qualities of art, these artists denounced the figure, or object, as the subject and consequently the art became a reflection of the artist’s inner thought. As Robert Motherwell poignantly stated, “Most painting in the European tradition was painting the mask. Modern art rejected all that. Our subject matter was the person behind the mask.” 

Abstract art is infused with the energy, innovation and colors that artistically embody the essence of the changing American nation during the 20^th century.  Paralleling the major advances in modern technology, nuclear and atomic warfare, science, photography, and aeronautics, the dominant art of the period suggests an entirely new relationship between the artist, the art, and the viewer.  As a result, a new desire for subjectivity for both subject and form developed, allowing artists the freedom to express their own artistic concerns as finished compositions.  For many, the process of discovery became an “arena in which to act” and therefore the process became equally integral to the work as a finished composition.  As noted art historian Robert Rosenblum stated,”these works are so radical in their breaks with the conventions of the easel picture—they are lighthouses of art that can illuminate a vast territory.” 

 

The artists whose works are included in this exhibition successfully represent the fundamental ideologies associated with the abstract movement within 20^th century modernism.  Their representations of both “figure” and “form” remain a testament to their importance within our artistic and cultural history, which has subsequently become the foundation for contemporary visual expression.