Athena LaTocha facts for kids

Athena LaTocha is an American artist who lives in New York. She creates art using different materials. Her artworks often show how humans connect with nature and the land. Athena LaTocha is part of the Hunkpapa Lakota and Ojibwe Native American groups.

Her art has been shown in many places. These include the Fairfield University Museum of Art and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. She has also had her work displayed at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts and the New York State Museum. In 2018, she was chosen for a special art program at Wave Hill.

About Athena LaTocha

Her Early Life

Athena LaTocha was born in Anchorage, Alaska. Her father has Polish and Austrian roots. Her mother is Native American. Her mother's family comes from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.

Her Education and Training

Athena LaTocha studied art at different schools. She earned her first art degree from the School of Art Institute of Chicago. Later, she received her Master of Fine Arts degree in 2007 from Stony Brook University in New York.

She first learned to paint with oil paints. But she also learned other art skills. She trained in making bronze sculptures at a place called Beacon Fine Arts Foundry. She also took classes in printmaking at the Art Students League of New York.

How Athena LaTocha Creates Art

Her Unique Process

Athena LaTocha started with oil painting, but her art style changed over time. She began to use fewer traditional tools like brushes. She wanted to find new ways to work with art materials. She often uses sumi ink, which is a special ink from Japan. She mixes this ink with natural materials like earth.

She also uses everyday objects in her art. These can include bricks and even pieces of old tires. She might use tire shreds to spread ink across her canvas. Sometimes, she moves the canvas itself in a wavy motion to guide the ink. She even used a large root ball (a mass of roots with soil) in some of her art.

Working with Canvases

Athena LaTocha usually works on her canvases when they are on the floor. She likes to be right over or inside her artwork. She has said that working this way makes her feel like she is part of the image. This is different from a painter who stands at an easel, looking at the art from the outside.

The Message in Her Art

Connecting with Landscapes

Athena LaTocha wants people to see landscapes differently. She believes that land is not just a picture to look at. Instead, she sees landscapes as active and living things. She shows that humans are part of the land, not separate from it. She does this by literally being within the scenes she paints.

She explains that the word "landscape" can sometimes make us think of a view from a window. But she wants us to feel like we are inside the natural world. She believes that people should actively move through and be part of the landscape.

Exhibitions and Awards

Where Her Art Has Been Shown

Athena LaTocha's art has been shown in many places across the United States. These include solo shows and group exhibitions. Some notable places are the Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

In 2015, she had a solo show at the CUE Art Foundation in New York. Another solo show in 2017, called Forces of Nature, featured a huge ink artwork named La Bajada Red. This piece covered an entire wall from the floor to the ceiling. In 2021, her solo exhibition Land Disturbed opened.

For a big exhibition called Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now (2018-2019), her large artwork Ozark (Shelter in Place) was chosen. This piece was made from rock impressions and lead sheets. In December 2020, she was part of the Urban Native Artists exhibition in New York.

Awards and Grants

Athena LaTocha has received several important awards and grants for her art. These include:

• Anonymous Was a Woman Award, 2023
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund Pocantico Art Prize in Visual Arts, 2022
• Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art Contemporary Art Fellowship, 2021
• NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Painting, 2021
• Joan Mitchell Foundation grant, 2019 and 2016
• Robert Rauschenberg Foundation grant, 2013