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Gordon Coons’ heritage is Ojibway from Lake Superior Chippewa Band of Wisconsin (from his father) and Ottawa from Michigan (from his mother). He is an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe of northern Wisconsin. Originally from Wisconsin, Gordon now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When not creating artwork, he serves as facility manager at the West Seventh Community Center in St Paul, Minnesota.
Coons is a self-taught artist, creating works in a variety of mediums including linoleum block prints, paintings, pen and ink, carvings in stone and wood. Though is work is more contemporary, each piece portrays a unique view of traditional native stories, incorporating strong family influences into the image. In each image he tries to portray a positive aspect of his heritage and in some images he’ll add a little humor. He has always created art and began showing at juried art shows including the Eiteljorg Indian Art Market, Indianapolis, IN; Indian Art Northwest of Portland; University of Kansas Museum of Anthropology; Oscar Howe Art Center, Mitchell, SD; Trail of Tears, Tahlequah, OK; Red Earth Indian Market, Oklahoma City, OK; University of Wisconsin, Superior, WI; National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC and the
Red Cloud Art Show, Pine Ridge, SD. His work is included in several public and private collections, and he has won numerous recognition awards in the graphics/prints categories.
In 2007 he was commissioned by Keith Secola, “an award winning native acoustic guitar song writer and player”, to create an image to be used as a poster at his concerts; commissioned by WOJB-FM of Lac Courte Oreilles Reserve, Wisconsin for their 20th anniversary celebration; and was recently commissioned to create and lead a project of five artists from Lac Courte Oreilles to create eleven images depicting the Ojibway migration story, these images are currently located at the Lac Courte Oreilles Community Library.
This is the first one-man showing of Gordon Coons’ work to be held at the Sioux Indian Museum. Prices of work for sale can be obtained from The Journey Museum Store at (605) 394-2201. After the exhibit closes, interested individuals can contact Gordon Coons at essibon@msn.com.
A four-page color brochure of his special exhibition can be obtained by contacting the Sioux Indian Museum, 222 New York Street, Rapid City, SD 57701; or by calling the museum at (605) 394-2381 to request a free brochure.
The Sioux Indian Museum, managed by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, U.S. Department of the Interior, is located in The Journey Museum at 222 New York Street, Rapid City, SD 57701. For admission fees and hours of operation call The Journey Museum at (605) 394-6923.
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