Andrea Carlson facts for kids

Andrea Carlson (born 1979) is an American artist who creates art using many different materials. She lives in Chicago but also works in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Andrea Carlson's Background and Learning

Her Family Roots

Andrea Carlson is a member of the Grand Portage Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Her family background also includes French and Scandinavian heritage. These different cultures inspire her art.

Her Education Journey

Carlson studied at the University of Minnesota. In 2003, she earned a degree in studio arts and American Indian studies. She learned the Ojibwe Language, which she calls a "great gift." In 2005, she earned a master's degree in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Early Art Influences

Andrea's father was a painter who taught her how to draw and paint when she was very young. He helped her feel confident that her art would be understood. She was also influenced by George Morrison, an Ojibwe artist.

Andrea Carlson's Art and What It Means

How She Creates Her Art

Carlson often creates her art on paper. She uses many materials like acrylic and oil paint, watercolor, and colored pencils. Her artworks often combine realistic photos with interesting patterns. This creates a world that feels both familiar and new.

Museums and Cultural Stories

Carlson's art also explores how museums show and explain cultural objects. She believes that museums sometimes tell stories about objects in a way that takes over their original meaning. She wants museums to think about their past and how they got some of their collections. She challenges them to tell the true stories of these objects.

Exploring Big Ideas in Her Art

Carlson uses strong metaphors in her art. For example, her series called VORE talks about how one culture might try to take over or absorb another. She uses images from museum collections and pop art to show these ideas. Her art makes viewers think about how different cultures are treated in society.

One of her artworks from the VORE series is called Sunshine on a .... She made it in 2015 using various art materials on paper. In this large painting, she layered small images from Native American art and Western painting. These images form a pyramid shape. This artwork makes people think about how Western cultures sometimes admire "exotic" cultures but also try to make them fit into their own ways.

Themes in Her Work

Andrea Carlson's art often talks about "entangled cultural narratives." This means how different cultural stories are mixed together. She also explores how stereotypes about Indigenous peoples continue in American stories. She believes that if Indigenous cultures change, some people might see them as "not real" anymore.

For example, her print Exit (2019) shows a fear of losing cultural practices and languages. It also points out how some Indigenous creations have been used by people who did not create them. Carlson also uses ideas from movies in her art. She encourages viewers to look closely and think about what they are seeing.

Where Andrea Carlson's Art Has Been Shown

Group Exhibitions

• 2020-21: Don't Let This Be Easy at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN.
• 2019–21: Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists, a traveling show that visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Frist Art Museum, Renwick Gallery (part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum), and Philbrook Museum of Art.
• 2018–19: Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now, at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR.
• 2024-2025: Shimmer on Horizons at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Art Collections

Andrea Carlson's art is part of the permanent collections at several important museums. These include the Walker Art Center, Weisman Art Museum, the British Museum, and the National Gallery of Canada.