Eric-Paul Riege: ojo|-|ólǫ́ opens at the Bell Gallery, Brown University

ojo|-|ólǫ́, a major solo exhibition by Eric-Paul Riege presents new and recent soft sculpture, performance, collage, and textiles. Drawing on Diné practices in weaving, silversmithing, and beading, Riege references Diné spirituality, histories of trading posts and tourist shops, and notions of “authenticity” in relation to Indigenous cultural production.

In preparation for the exhibition, the artist visited with the collections of Brown’s Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology and the University of Washington’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, notably Navajo weavings, jewelry, dolls, and works that blend Christian and Indigenous symbology. These encounters informed the creation of new large-scale sculptures that fill the gallery space.

“A lot of my work is this interplay of questioning and celebration,” Riege said in a Brown University news release. Bell Gallery associate curator Thea Quiray Tagle notes how Riege’s performances with his sculptures “invite critical reflection about the relationship between agency and objecthood, and the visibility of Native cultures and peoples within the museums and dominant culture.”

ojo|-|ólǫ́ is co-organized by the Bell Gallery at Brown University and the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington. Quiray Tagle co-curated the exhibition with Nina Bozicnik, Henry Art Gallery senior curator. The exhibition remains on view at the Bell through December 7, and will travel to the Henry next spring (on view March 14 through August 30, 2026).

For more, read Petala Ironcloud’s review for Hyperallergic and Carina Martinez’s interview with Riege on inspirations underlying the exhibition for Art21.