Gerald Clarke

Cahuilla, b. 1967, Hemet, CA, lives and works on the Cahuilla Indian Reservation

Gerald Clarke: Between the Lines

Aug 27 - Oct 17

Native Arts and Cultures Foundation

800 SE 10th Ave, Portland, OR 97214

Thurs – Sat: 1:00 - 4:00 PM

About the Project

Gerald Clarke (Anza, CA) is a distinguished Cahuilla artist, educator, and tribal leader known for utilizing wit and material innovation to expose historical and present-day injustices. For the 2026 Triennial, he presents Between the Lines at the Center for Native Arts and Culture. The project interrogates the performativity of land acknowledgments, including a 16-foot "rubber stamp" sculpture and branding iron prints that contrast terms like "Unceded" and "Stolen". Through a new collaborative mural and video, Clarke demands a transition from symbolic recognition to a raw, material understanding of sovereignty.

Artist Bio

An enrolled citizen of the Cahuilla Band of Indians, Clarke lives in the home his grandfather built on the Cahuilla Indian Reservation, where he oversees the Clarke family cattle ranch. Deeply involved in both his community and academia, he is a Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Riverside, teaching classes in Native American art, history, and culture, and frequently lectures on contemporary indigenous social issues.

Clarke has exhibited his work extensively, with pieces held in major museum collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the Heard Museum, and the Riverside Museum. In 2020, the Palm Springs Art Museum hosted Gerald Clarke: Falling Rock, the first major retrospective of his work. His practice has been recognized with an Eiteljorg Museum Fellowship (2007) and a Joan Mitchell Fellowship (2025), and he has served as an Artist-in-Residence at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe.

Clarke holds a B.A. in Art from the University of Central Arkansas and an M.A./M.F.A. in Painting and Sculpture from Stephen F. Austin State University.