Whitney Biennial 2026

Kimowan Metchewais took an expansive approach to photography, producing Polaroids that he translated into paintings and collages as well as ephemeral installations on his studio walls. Beginning the 1990s—a time when many Indigenous artists explicitly challenged stereotypes—his works are abstract and poetic in their exploration of Indigenous identity. Emphasizing the tactility and materiality of his self-portraits, landscapes, and other images, Metchewais pursued what he called a “self-made Native imagery.”