"New Paintings, ​Old Stories"
Artwork by Carl Gawboy
brought to you by AICHO Galleries
General Gallery Viewing
Date: Every Friday starting March 11 until May 27
Time: 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. CST
Location: Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center, 212 W 2nd Street (must enter through 202 entrance)

This exhibit is free. Due to COVID-19, we are limiting the number of visitors to 20 at any given time.

Carl Gawboy will be hosting on March 11, April 1, April 15, April 29, May 13, and May 20.

About the Exhibit
“Carl Gawboy is a National Treasure.”
Quote by Fond du Lac Ojibwe citizen and artist Wendy Savage, Curator of AICHO’s “New Paintings, Old Stories.”
AICHO is beyond thrilled to host painter Carl Gawboy, who is a Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe citizen and of Finnish descent, this March through May 2022 in our AICHO Galleries with a series of brand new – never-before-seen work created in 2020 and 2021! The exhibition will include a collection of over 30 watercolor, acrylics and ink washes that feature Anishinaabe and Finnish cultural life, landscapes and spiritual teachings. Also on display will be Carl’s artist awards, his book/publications and visual accolades for the work that he has created.

AICHO Galleries will have a “New Paintings, Old Stories” art catalogue for purchase featuring a select set of Carl’s new watercolors, biographical information on Carl, praise from fellow artist colleagues, and more at our Indigenous First Art and Gift Shop.

In our mission to promote and support local, regional, and national Indigenous artists, AICHO Galleries will have a digital billboard featuring Carl Gawboy’s painting announcing the exhibition on Central Entrance for the month of March 2022 as well as social media postings. Many of Carl’s works will be for sale and sale transactions will be operated through our gift shop.

Join us in celebrating our local and national treasure, Carl Gawboy, by attending this culturally expressive and historic art exhibition.

Exhibition funded in part by The McKnight Foundation and Arrowhead Regional Arts Council.
​Art Show Catalogues on Sale
This beautiful 44-page art catalogue features never before seen watercolor paintings, a biography, and an interview with artist Carl Gawboy, a Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe citizen. His catalogue includes reflections and memories from his lifelong friends and other artists. This catalogue is related to his solo art exhibition entitled “New Paintings, Old Stories” which is on display at the Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center from March 5 – May 27, 2022. Catalogues are sold for $18.00 each.
COVID-19 Safety Precautions
  • All visitors must wear face masks. Masks must cover the mouth and nose regardless of vaccination status.
  • If visitors are not feeling well or feeling ill, please do not attend.
  • Social distancing guidelines will be adhered to
  • During gallery viewing hours, visitors must enter at the 202 entrance and sanitize their hands.
  • While attending artists receptions and artist events, visitors must enter at the 212 entrance and will have their temperature checked and be asked to sanitize their hands.
  • Only 20 visitors in the gallery at any given time.

About the Artist
Carl Gawboy, a member of the Bois Forte Band of the Minnesota Ojibwe, was born in Cloquet, MN to a Finnish mother and an Ojibwe father, raised in Ely, MN and has lived off and on in the Duluth area for the past twenty years.  

Carl graduated in 1965 from the University of Minnesota Duluth with a B.A. Arts and received a master’s degree in American Indian arts from the University of Montana, Missoula in 1972.  

Carl taught for six years at University of Minnesota-Duluth and twelve years at the College of St. Scholastica teaching American Indian studies and watercolor painting.  He is currently retired and devotes much of time to painting and writing. 
 
Carl’s work is primarily concerned with defining the Ojibwe culture between 1850 and 1950, an era that best synthesizes Ojibwe lifestyles with European technology. He focuses on the spirit of everyday life as depicted in rituals such as harvesting, ricing, hunting, canoeing and storytelling.  His work celebrates healthy, peaceful and sustainable living.

An old barn, on the property he shares with his wife Cindy on Lake Superior’s north shore, serves as his studio.  Gawboy’s mural work ranges from a single wall pieces, such as those installed in Cloquet, Bemidji and Ely to a massive 33-panel series at the Superior Public Library, tracing Superior’s history and taking 10 years to complete.  In the summer of 2007, he completed a mural for the new Grand Portage National Monument Interpretive Center.  The Depot Foundation (Duluth, Minnesota) recognized Carl Gawboy with the Arts and Culture Lifetime Artist Awards in 2008. 

In the summer of 2010, he completed six murals for the new Nett Lake Government Center, and one mural for Leech Lake Tribal and Community College. Carl has created works for well over 75 exhibits and his works are in permanent collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Department of Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board and the Fond du Lac Reservation.

His commitment to accuracy has led him to paint the truth – Gawboy thinks he may be the only artist painting Indian scenes with cars and baseball caps.  He does not want to perpetuate the notion that all Indians live on reservations, since according to the 2000 U.S. Census, 65 percent of American Indians live in the metro area.  He paints with historical accuracy and often challenges popular and academic paradigms about American Indian cultures.  Most of his career has focused on bringing to life scenes of Ojibwe life that have never been documented by painters or photographers. Carl’s artwork gives life to the Ojibwe cultural systems reflected in everyday life, work and rituals within the context of their historical environment and traditions.

Carl is one of the original founding members of Native Skywatchers, and co-delivers annual workshops on Native Astronomy and Science.

Works By Carl Gawboy

His publications include:  
  • Talking Sky with Ron Morton (2014), Rockflower Press
  • Talking Rocks with Ron Morton, received Best Nature Book Award in 2000 from Midwest Publishers
  • Ancient Earth and the First Ancestors with Ron Morton, received Northeastern Minnesota Best Book Award for nonfiction category in 2011

Online articles/videos featuring info and paintings of Carl Gawboy:

Honorable Mentions

This art exhibition is sponsored by the McKnight Foundation and the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council.

Website cover photo is cropped from Carl Gawboy's "Vainomoinen and Nanaboojoo" painting.

Graphic design for poster and flyer by Moira Villiard.

Photographs of Carl Gawboy by Ivy Vainio
Web design by Moira Villiard.