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Cannupa Hanska Luger’s exhibition “American Traditional” is on view at Garth Greenan Gallery in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. In a review for Hyperallergic, editor-at-large Hrag Vartanian describes sculptures made with ironstone clay, sumi ink, wood and archival references that confront the mass killing of buffalo during westward expansion. The supplied report does not give the exhibition’s dates or further details about its full installation.
Artist Cannupa Hanska Luger is presenting “American Traditional” at Garth Greenan Gallery in New York, with sculptures that confront the mass slaughter of buffalo during westward expansion. In a review published by Hyperallergic, editor-at-large Hrag Vartanian describes bison forms and skull imagery arranged with materials including ironstone clay, sumi ink and wood.
Vartanian writes that an abstracted bison, made of ironstone clay and sumi ink, sits on a burned and blackened 19th-century American dining table. Elsewhere in the exhibition, a stack of buffalo skull forms rests on a surface whose legs are vintage axes. The arrangements bring domestic and historical objects into contact with the history of violence against the animals.
The review says the work sets aside the participatory, ceramics-heavy projects for which Luger is best known, combining wood, ink and archival material in a more declarative presentation. Vartanian calls the exhibition the artist’s “strongest work yet.” That is the reviewer’s assessment, rather than a statement by the gallery or an objective measure of the artist’s career.
Vartanian connects the sculptures to the destruction of buffalo by European settlers under the banner of westward expansion. The source describes the historical subject and visual references, but does not provide a gallery statement, a complete work list, visitor figures or the exhibition’s opening and closing dates.
How the Sculptures Confront Buffalo Slaughter
The exhibition makes the history of buffalo slaughter visible through forms and materials associated with domestic life, tools and animal remains. The burned dining table and axes are not described as neutral display furniture: in Vartanian’s reading, they help connect the sculptures to the violence embedded in the history the show addresses.
That subject matters beyond the gallery because buffalo have been central to the lives and relationships of many Native American communities. Vartanian recalls that Indigenous communities and the animals lived in a symbiotic relationship for millennia. The review does not detail the distinct histories of particular nations, but it places the works within a history in which the animals’ destruction also affected Indigenous peoples.
The sculptures’ visual appeal may draw viewers in while leaving the underlying history in view. Vartanian writes that the forms’ beauty can almost make a viewer forget the destruction, but says that history is embedded in each element. His interpretation points to the show’s central tension: formal attraction alongside historical violence.
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The Image Behind Vartanian’s Reading
Vartanian links his response to an 1892 photograph showing two men beside a hill of buffalo skulls, which he encountered at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The photograph was covered by a small, wall-mounted curtain designed by Yurok artist Stormi Turner as part of the exhibition “Preoccupied: Indigenizing the Museum.”
He describes Turner’s intervention as a way to acknowledge the tragedy of the image and the care such a history demands. He compares the covered photograph to museum practices for presenting human remains, where warnings, doors or covers can shape how a viewer encounters an object. This memory returned to him while visiting Luger’s show, providing a specific point of reference for his reading of its archival and sculptural elements.
The source identifies “American Traditional” as a departure from Luger’s better-known participatory work, but it does not provide a broader timeline of the artist’s practice or details about how the exhibition was developed. The account here is grounded in the reviewer’s description and interpretation.
““strongest work yet””
— Hrag Vartanian, Hyperallergic editor-at-large
Exhibition Dates and Scope Not Given
The supplied report does not state when “American Traditional” opened, how long it will remain at Garth Greenan Gallery, or whether the gallery has published a full checklist or artist statement. It also does not identify the specific archival materials referenced in the works beyond Vartanian’s description of an archival component.
The review frames the show as confronting buffalo slaughter and westward expansion, but the available source does not include a direct statement from Luger explaining the works. Vartanian’s characterizations—including his description of the show as the artist’s strongest work—are critical judgments, not confirmed claims by the artist or gallery.
Gallery Details Remain the Next Step
Readers seeking practical information should check Garth Greenan Gallery for current visiting details and the exhibition’s dates. The supplied report does not announce a related public program, publication or future presentation, so no further event can be confirmed from this material.
Further reporting could add the artist’s own account of the works, identify the archival sources used, and clarify how the gallery presents the exhibition over time. Until those details are available, the confirmed development is the show’s presentation at the gallery and Hyperallergic’s review of its sculptural response to buffalo slaughter.
Key Questions
What is “American Traditional”?
It is an exhibition by Cannupa Hanska Luger at Garth Greenan Gallery in New York. Hyperallergic’s review describes sculptures that address the history of buffalo slaughter.
What materials appear in the works?
The review describes an abstracted bison made from ironstone clay and sumi ink, a burned and blackened 19th-century dining table, and a stack of skull forms displayed on a surface with vintage axes for legs. Vartanian also characterizes the show as a synthesis of wood, ink and archival material.
What history does the exhibition address?
Vartanian connects the sculptures to the slaughter of buffalo by European settlers during westward expansion, and notes the animals’ long-standing relationship with many Native American communities.
When can the exhibition be seen?
The supplied source does not give the exhibition’s opening or closing dates. Check Garth Greenan Gallery for current visiting information.
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