Featured Artist: Starr Hardridge

Trained in the classical disciplines of painting, Starr Hardridge’s style has evolved from abstract symbolism to representational metaphors that explore the struggle for balance in the natural world. His work employs an assemblage of pointillist dots to evoke the texture of beadwork, transforming the painted surface into a tapestry of woven or beaded-like imagery. This innovative technique blends color and geometry, offering a modern perspective rooted in Mvskoke patterns and designs. His practice aims to create order in chaotic times, connecting humanity with nature.

“Indigenous technologies like pottery, shell carving, and beadwork have been traditional storytelling methods passed down through millennia. I see my storytelling as an extension of these technologies, expressed in two-dimensional form.”

- Starr Hardridge 2024

Artist CV

Born: 1974, Denison, TX
Raised: Oklahoma
Home: Knoxville, TN

Education:

• Savannah College of Art and Design, BFA in Illustration, 1993-1997
• Nadaii/Verdon Atelier of Decorative Arts, Decoratif Superior, 2006-2007

Selected Exhibitions:

• 2024: New Terrains, Group Show, Phillips Auction House, NYC
• 2024: Spark of The Eagle Dancer, Group Exhibition, Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center
• 2023: Small Works / Great Wonders, Group Show, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
• 2023: Western Visions, Group Show, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY
• 2023: Blue Rain Gallery’s Annual Celebration of Native American Art, Group Show
• 2023: Renewal, Solo Show, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
• 2023-2024: UN/Natural Selections: Wildlife In Contemporary Art, Traveling Group Exhibition, National Museum of Wildlife Art
• 2022: Cross Roads, Group Show, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
• 2021-2022: Recovering Ancient Spiro, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Birmingham Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Art
• 2022: Small Works / Great Wonders, Group Show, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
• 2021: Blue Rain Gallery’s Annual Celebration of Native American Art, Group Show, Santa Fe, NM
• 2021: Two-Man Show with Chris Pappan, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
• 2020: Counter Point, Two-Man Show with Chris Pappan, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
• 2019: Blue Rain Gallery’s Annual Celebration of Native American Art, Group Show, Santa Fe, NM
• 2019: Two-Man Show with Chris Pappan, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
• 2017: New Visions with Eve Lafountain and Chris Pappan, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
• 2015-2016: Return From Exile, Traveling Group Exhibition

Collections:

• The Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK
• The Muscarelle Museum of Art, Williamsburg, VA
• National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY
• National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
• Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, KS
• Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN
• Oklahoma State Capitol Art Collection, Oklahoma City, OK
• Seminole Nation Museum, Wewoka, OK
• The Five Civilized Tribes Museum, Muskogee, OK
• Council Oak Comprehensive Health Care Art Collection, Jenks, OK, Muscogee Creek Nation
• Sequoyah National Research Center, University of Little Rock, Little Rock, AR
• Microsoft Corporate Art Collection, CA
• NBC Bank Corporate Art Collection, OK

Public Art:

• “En Hesse Opvnka” (Friendship Dance) Mural, Eufaula, OK, 2023
• Light Pole Banner Designs Commission, Jenks Riverwalk, Jenks, OK, 2023
• “Wish You Well” Mural, Council Oak Comprehensive Healthcare Facility, Jenks, OK, 2022

Come visit Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, NM to see the unique talent and original paintings of Muskogee artist, Starr Hardridge.