Exhibitions

COLORFIELDS, 27 September – 1 November 2024

Rainmaker Gallery is delighted to welcome back Mvskoke artist Rick Grimster (b.1945) who burst onto the art scene last year with two hugely successful solo shows. ‘COLORFIELDS’, his third exhibition, juxtaposes his latest works on paper alongside earlier paintings on canvas. Grimster’s unmistakable Indigenous colour sensibility and mastery of texture is ever present, as is […]

HORSEPOWER, 31 May – 31 July 2024

Horsepower brings together paintings and photography by seven accomplished Indigenous artists. It celebrates the enduring relationship between horses and humans. This exhibition invites us to slow down and visualise a world without cars. It hopes to stimulate a conversation about modes of transportation. Should technological innovation play only a small part in our sustainable future? […]

Spring Showcase, 12 March – 18 May 2024

This spring we are showcasing the work of four contrasting contemporary Native American artists. Fine art photographer Cara Romero of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Randy L Barton, Diné from Arizona, Cotswold based painter Rick Grimster, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and sculptor Addison Karl, Chickasaw and Choctaw. Romero recently headlined major exhibitions at […]

WINTER TREES, 14 November – 29 February 2024

Rainmaker Gallery is delighted to welcome back Mvskoke artist Rick Grimster for his second solo exhibition ‘Winter Trees’. In this exhibition Grimster presents a series of acrylic paintings created over a period of eleven years in his Cotswold home. Grimster’s life story is as captivating as his paintings that elevate the English landscape with an […]

BILLY HENSLEY, 21 September – 31 October 2023

In this solo exhibition Chickasaw artist Billy Hensley presents a series of abstract paintings embellished with traditional Indigenous beadwork. Born and raised in Oklahoma, Hensley is a self-taught artist who draws his inspiration from his life, the history of his family, the Chickasaw people and the world around him. Hensley works mainly in acrylic paint […]

MARLA ALLISON, 6 July – 12 August 2023

We are delighted to welcome artist Marla Allison back to Bristol with an exhibition of works on canvas. A celebrated painter from the Laguna Pueblo tribe, Marla was the artist in residence at Rainmaker Gallery for a month in the summer of 2018 when we presented her superb solo exhibition “Painter From The Desert‘. Five […]

RANDY L BARTON, 17 May – 12 August 2023

In this series of abstract paintings Diné artist Randy Barton explores the Bauhaus Movement through the lens of graffiti art. Barton is a neo-contemporary Native artist, designer, dancer, DJ and music producer from the Navajo Nation in Arizona. The foundation of his work derives from the unique combination of his background in graffiti art and […]

BELONGING, 7 March – 6 May 2023

In this solo exhibition artist Rick Grimster explores his relationship to the country of his birth. A war baby born to a Mvskoke father and an English mother in London in 1945, his life is but one of the numerous unique stories that make up the Indigenous diaspora. Richard Geoffrey Grimster is an enrolled citizen […]

Serigraphs from the Pacific Northwest

This exhibition showcases Pacific Northwest coast ‘formline’ serigraphs from Tlingit artist Preston Singletary and Coast Salish printmakers Peter and Araquin Boome. Formline is a distinctive style of art common to the Indigenous nations of the Pacific Northwest coast and Alaska. Each nation, and indeed each artist, has their own subtle yet distinctive stylistic differences. The […]

KEEPERS OF THE FIRE, 27 September – 5 November 2022

This exhibition brings together the work of Jason Wesaw and Douglas Klemm. Both artists are citizens of Pokégnek Bodéwadmik (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians).The Potawatomi Nation are known as the ‘Keepers of The Fire’ amongst the tribes of the Three Fires Confederacy. Both artists express a profound relationship to and respect for the land.The minimalist […]

Spring 2022

Our 2022 spring exhibition will be the last in our current gallery home. The artworks are chosen for their joyful colours in celebration of the happy times we have spent here throughout the last sixteen years. The show brings together the work of several artist, some new and some familiar. It includes Cara Romero’s photographic […]

Winter 2021-2022

Our winter exhibition showcases Pacific Northwest Coast ‘formline’ serigraphs from Preston Singletary, meticulous acrylic paintings by Marla Allison and Jasmine Coe, minimalist serigraphs by Jordan Ann Craig, fine art photographic portraiture from Cara Romero, a digital composite photographic print by the late Shan Goshorn, mercurial tintype portraits by Kali Spitzer and Will Wilson, sepia figurative […]

BIRTHRIGHT – Journeys of Reconnection, 15 September – 6 November 2021

This exhibition brings together two artists from different backgrounds who share a common experience. It documents the ongoing journeys of cultural reconnection by painter Jasmine Coe (Wiradjuri & British) and textile artist Melinda Schwakhofer (Muscogee (Creek) & Austrian-American). Both artists grew up geographically and culturally separated from their respective Indigenous families. Reaching out to their […]

SUMMER BLUES 2021

Continuing with our theme of seasonal colours, the 2021 summer exhibition is inspired by the colour blue. It brings together photography, fine art prints and paintings by thirteen Indigenous artist from fourteen tribal Nations, including George Alexander (Muscogee), Marla Allison (Laguna Pueblo), Shonto Begay (Diné), Jordan Ann Craig (Northern Cheyenne), Yatika Starr Fields (Osage, Cherokee, […]

Spring 2021

Rainmaker Gallery is celebrating 30 years of exhibiting contemporary Native American art in the UK. Throughout the year the gallery will be showing artworks selected in accordance with seasonal colour pallets, including as many artist from the three decades as possible. This spring exhibition is filled with joyful spring greens, blossom pinks and sunshine yellows. […]

Autumn 2020

Rainmaker Gallery is currently showing a selection of paintings, fine art prints and photographs chosen for their seasonal palette of rich autumnal oranges, reds and golds. The featured artwork, ‘JULIA’, is a portrait of a young woman from the Cochiti Pueblo tribe, photographed by Chemehuevi fine art photographer Cara Romero. Julia stands in a specially […]

EMERGENCE, 16th June – 26th September 2020

‘Emergence 2020’ marks the re-emergence of our communities from the confines inflicted on the world by the Covid-19 virus. The works selected for this exhibition reference healing, ceremony, meditation, nature and resilience by eight artists from tribes across the USA. This group show introduces organic works on paper by Monty Little (Diné) and includes ledger […]

PATTERN, 1 November – 29 February 2020

Artist reception: Thursday 28th November 6pm – 8pm at Rainmaker Gallery with visiting artists Jordan Ann Craig and Marla Allison. At 6pm Jordan will give a short gallery talk about her work in the exhibition.  In this group exhibition Native American artists explore the recurring presence of pattern in Indigenous cultures. Drawing inspiration from nature, material […]

‘BRIGHT PATH’, 21 June – 28 September 2019

In this solo exhibition of acrylic paintings Chickasaw artist Billy Hensley honours two Native American trailblazers: Chickasaw actress and storyteller Te Ata and Olympic gold medalist Jim Thorpe. Prophetically, Thorpe’s Sauk (Sac and Fox) name Wa-Tho-Huk translates as ‘path lit by a great flash of lightning’ or more simply Bright Path. Hensley interweaves images of […]

The Young Americans – 21 March – 15 June 2019

Thursday 9th May: an open discussion with artist activist Cannupa Hanska Luger followed by a gallery reception (see below). This spring Rainmaker Gallery showcases a new generation of Native American artists.  These young creatives bring an explosive visual mix of techniques, experimentation and individual perspectives that shatter clichéd perceptions of ‘Indian’ art and life. “As a Native […]

Birds Beasts & Butterflies, 1 November – 28 February 2019

This winter exhibition brings together works by several contemporary Native American artists who, through a variety of styles and media, express their individual connections to the natural world. Pacific Northwest Coast artist Preston Singletary immortalises regional fauna in traditional Tlingit formline serigraphs. The black and white photography of Eugene Tapahe encounters iconic American wildlife in [...]

‘Life Blood’ exhibition, London 18-21 October

This month we are delighted to join forces with The Native Spirit Film Festival and the Bloomsbury festival in London. We will be exhibiting the breathtaking portraits of fine art photographer and social justice advocate Cara Romero at the Crypt Gallery. The exhibition ‘Life Blood‘, curated by Ash Kotak, explores activist art as realised by a group of international artists, film makers, writers […]

MARLA ALLISON: PAINTER FROM THE DESERT 6 June – 11 August 2018

A solo exhibition of acrylic paintings by 2018 artist-in-residence Marla Allison. In this solo exhibition artist Marla Allison presents paintings created in her Laguna Pueblo studio, alongside canvases painted during a four week artist residency at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery in May of this year. This exhibition opens on 6th June with a one […]

CARA ROMERO exhibition, 8 March – 31 May 2018

A solo exhibition of ground-breaking works by Native American fine art photographer Cara Romero. Cara Romero was raised on the Chemehuevi Valley Indian reservation along the California shoreline of Havasu Lake in the heart of the Mojave Desert. She is a born visual storyteller with a unique ability to illuminate and communicate subtle and complex perspectives […]

NATIVE COLOR November 2017 – February 2018

This group exhibition celebrates contemporary Native American artists who are each renowned as great colourists: Tony Tiger, Yatika Starr Fields, Nocona Burgess, Debra Yepa-Pappan, Cara Romero, Billy Hensley, Dan Viets Lomahaftewa Colour by itself is a truly cross-cultural experience and yet is often inflected by specific cultural traditions, as in the paintings of artist and curator […]

YATIKA STARR FIELDS 12 July – 28 October 2017

A solo exhibition showcasing the recent work of contemporary Native American painter and muralist Yatika Starr Fields. Artist Talk with Yatika Starr Fields, 25th July 3-4pm at Friends Meeting Hse BS6 6JE Artist reception with Yatika Starr Fields, 25th July 6-8pm at Rainmaker Gallery Yatika Starr Fields’ paintings pack a visual punch through intensity of colour […]

WE ARE NATIVE WOMEN 23 March – 31 May 2017

Celebrating Native American women on the 400th anniversary of the death of Pocahontas. Artist Talk with Marla Allison, 23rd march 3-4pm Exhibition opening with Marla Allison, 23rd March 6-8pm at Rainmaker Gallery. We Are Native Women celebrates the strength and diversity of Native American women through the recent work of twelve contemporary Indigenous North American [...]

LOMAHAFTEWA – Looking for beauty in the future

18th October – 30th November 2016 As Rainmaker Gallery celebrates 25 years of exhibiting Native American art in England, we look back to the work of our very first visiting artist, the late Dan Viets Lomahaftewa (1951-2005). Dan Lomahaftewa created distinctly spiritual works of art that resonate vividly across deep time. He sought to communicate […]

APSÁALOOKE- A solo exhibition by Del Curfman

8th June – 6th August 2016 Exhibition Opening 8th June, 6-8pm Artist’s talk 8th June, 3-4pm APSÁALOOKE presents three series of oil paintings celebrating the cultural heritage and living traditions of the Apsáalooke – people of the Crow Indian Nation of Montana. The Vanishing series, portrays culturally significant figures painted in loose impressionistic strokes on […]

STILL – Native American Photographers

15th March – 28 May, 2016 Artist’s Talk with Cara Romero, Thursday April 21st, 3pm-4pm Artists’ reception with Cara Romero and Diego Romero, Thursday April 21st, 6pm -8pm STILL showcases the recent work of fine art photographers Cara Romero, Will Wilson, Kali Spitzer, Robert Mesa and Zoe Urness . Their compelling photographic images of water, dance […]

NATIVE AMERICAN PORTRAITURE

5th October – 28th November 2015 This exhibition of Native American Portraiture brings together work by eight contemporary Native American Indian artists from eleven tribal nations: Shonto Begay (Diné) Nocona Burgess (Comanche) 
Merle Locke (Lakota) Linda Lomahaftewa (Hopi & Choctaw) Chris Pappan (Osage, Kaw & Cheyenne River Sioux) Cara Romero (Chemehuevi) 
Zoe Marieh Urness (Tlingit & Cherokee) […]

NOCONA BURGESS – Solo exhibition

16th July – 30th September 2015  In this vivid and thoughtful solo exhibition Nocona Burgess presents strikingly modern depictions of Indigenous men and women from the tribal Nations of the Southern Plains. These paintings mix careful research, firsthand knowledge and raw passion. By combining brightly coloured shapes with crisply outlined facial features and traditional dress, Burgess explores […]

CAPTURED

5th MARCH – 30th MAY 2015 Six contemporary American Indian fine art photographers shed new light on both the uses of photography and the identities of Indigenous Americans in this ground-breaking exhibition. ‘CAPTURED’ showcases the work of fine art photographers Cara Romero, Will Wilson, Zoe Urness, Sarah Sense, Tailinh Agoyo and Debra Yepa-Pappan, who surprise and delight with […]

Zuni Rock Art

The Zuni reservation has a population of more than 11,000 people. It covers over 600 square miles of  New Mexico desert and is the largest of the nineteen Indian Pueblos in the state. Zuni is considered to be one of the most traditional Pueblos with a unique language, culture and history that has resulted in part from […]

FIRST PEOPLE, SECOND CITY

17th JUNE – 9th AUGUST 2014 Chris Pappan and Debra Yepa-Pappan An exhibition featuring the 21st century ledger art of Chris Pappan and Debra Yepa-Pappan, exploring the cultural identities of indigenous peoples in the Chicago area, and the idea of sacred space both past and present. FIRST PEOPLE, SECOND CITY will be launched with a […]

Sarah Sense: Weaving Water

13th JUNE – 10th AUGUST 2013 WEAVING WATER is a migrating exhibition in which Native American artist Sarah Sense navigates a new visual language through photography and weaving. The following exhibition launch events are a collaboration between the artist, Rainmaker Gallery and Dr. Max Carocci, curator at the British Museum. 11am – 12 noon: FILM […]

PRESTON SINGLETARY: TLINGIT SERIGRAPHS

30th OCTOBER – 30th NOVEMBER 2012 In this exhibition of silk screen prints Northwest Coast artist Preston Singletary draws on his Tlingit tribal heritage to explore themes of transformation, nature and myth. Preston Singletary is internationally recognised for his bold depictions of birds, animals and humans in the distinctive style of the Pacific North West. […]

MESSENGERS 2012

JUNE 13th – JULY 25th 2012 TONY ABEYTA, MARCUS AMERMAN, SHONTO BEGAY, DAVID BRADLEY, KELLY CHURCH, MELISSA CODY, EDGAR HEAP OF BIRDS, FRANK BUFFALO HYDE, LINDA LOMAHAFTEWA, AMERICA MEREDITH, CHRIS PAPPAN, DEBRA YEPA-PAPPAN, CARA ROMERO, DIEGO ROMERO, MATEO ROMERO, SARAH SENSE, RYAN SINGER, MICAH ‘WERE WULF’ WESLEY. ‘MESSENGERS 2012’ brings together the work of eighteen […]