‘Radiant Geometries’ Illuminates Teachings and Technologies in the Indigenous Americas

For centuries, Navajo/Diné weavers have created intricate, geometrically patterned blankets and rugs on upright looms, powered only by the artisans’ bodies. More than a millennia ago in Mesoamerica, which encompassed much of what today is Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula and parts of Central America, the Mayans produced ornate ceramics decorated with natural motifs like birds. Utilizing materials that could be foraged or cultivated in the landscape—the Diné have herded the distinctive Navajo-Churro sheep since the breed was introduced by Spaniards in the 16th century—the techniques, motifs, and cultural customs continue to influence artists today.

Through the lens of Indigenous interpretations of mathematics, science, and architecture, Radiant Geometries: Vectors of Knowledge from the Indigenous Americas at Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University invites us into a multi-media encounter with a wide range of cosmological perspectives and views on nature, narrative, and innovation.

Curated by Noor Alé, the exhibition’s scope embraces South, Central, and North America as a whole to explore how contemporary Indigenous artists channel ancestral and technological knowledge. A wide range of paintings, sculpture, video, sound, and more delve into realms of the mathematical, metaphysical, social, and environmental, tapping into the artists’ distinctive backgrounds and cultural heritage.

Melissa Cody, for example, begins with a foundation in Diné weaving, drawing upon the teachings of three generations of makers before her. The artist utilizes both a vertical Navajo loom and a mechanized Jaquard machine to create vibrant textiles merging traditional motifs and patterns with contemporary designs and messages.

Eamon Ore-Giron’s large-scale geometric abstractions are a dominant force in Radiant Geometries, nodding to a range of Indigenous motifs and symbols, such as Native American medicine wheels and tapestries from the Amazon Basin. Influence also arises from the 20th-century pictorial language of geometric abstraction, especially hard-edge painting.

In the gallery, Ore-Giron’s works are foregrounded by a series of vivid, freestanding sculptures by Natalia Montoya Lecaros titled Tótems de emergencia. She pulls a figurative aesthetic thread from the garments of the Aymara people of the Andes, who are known for their vibrant, handcrafted clothing combining Indigenous clothing traditions with elements introduced by Spanish colonizers. In Tótems de emergencia, four upright, mixed-media pieces stand on “feet,” installed in a circle as if performing a ceremonial dance or tribute in the center of the gallery.

Additional artists featured in the exhibition include Patricia Domínguez, Jordan Ann Craig, Nanibah Chacon, Patrick Martinez, and many others. “At its core, Radiant Geometries centers Indigenous ways of knowing that continueto shape relationships to territories, waterways, and interspecies care,” Alé says.

The show runs through December 19 in Houston. The museum is also hosting a large-scale vinyl installation by Sharmistha Ray, which opens on October 22 and will remain on view through January 29. Explore all exhibitions on the Moody Center’s website.

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