The Pérez Art Museum Miami Snaps Up a Mixed-Media Work by Indigenous Artist Patrick Dean Hubbell at the NADA Fair
This is the fifth iteration of the NADA Acquisition Gift for PAMM.
By Caroline Goldstein,
The Pérez Art Museum Miami has acquired indigenous artist Patrick Dean Hubbell’s mixed-media artwork You Keep Our Spirit Safe Between All Within the Day to Night (2022) for its permanent selection, thanks to the fifth annual New Art Dealers Alliance Acquisition Gift for PAMM. The work, which was presented at the art fair by Nina Johnson’s Miami-based gallery, was selected by associate curators Jennifer Inacio and Maritza Lacayo.
In the announcement, Inacio and Lacayo said of the artist, “We are fascinated by his practice, which makes reference to his indigenous identity while also amplifying aspects of indigenous contemporary art within the western ideologies of art. PAMM’s mission is centered on amplifying diverse voices and Hubbell’s work is the perfect addition to that conversation,”
Hubbell’s work is on view at the 20th edition of the NADA art fair alongside artists Yasue Maetake, Rob Davis, and Emmett Moore, in Nina Johnson’s booth. The work acquired by PAMM is exemplary of Hubbell’s style, in which he uses natural earth pigments sourced from his homeland and ranch on Navajo Nation to create his paintings and drawings—in turn reimagining the contemporary indigenous identity.
You Keep Our Spirit Safe Between All Within the Day to Night calls up the iconography of a flag draped from a wooden stretcher bar, with black-and-white fields of repeated markings bisected by a red and yellow-streaked square of canvas. It is presented in Nina Johnson’s booth alongside a similar work in red, white, and yellow.
“We’re thrilled to have worked with PAMM’s curatorial team on this acquisition,” gallerist Nina Johnson said. “Patrick is a rising star and certainly one to watch. We’re honored that this stunning piece has found a permanent home in one of Miami’s most beloved museums.”