Extracting inspiration: Jesse Littlebird marries Western and Indigenous ideas with his Abstract Expressionist style

Jesse Littlebird’s paintings conjure ancient prophecies and symbols knitted through the mysteries of Abstract Expressionism.

Born in Santa Fe, the artist hails from both Laguna and Kewa pueblos and lives in Albuquerque. He shows his work at Santa Fe’s Blue Rain Gallery, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and the Lapis Room in Albuquerque’s Old Town.

Extracting inspiration: Jesse Littlebird marries Western and Indigenous ideas with his Abstract Expressionist style

His artistic vision emerged from creative and supportive parents, lit by the flames of fire.

Creativity surrounded him like a cradle.

Littlebird’s father is Larry Littlebird, a famed artist, storyteller and filmmaker, and his mother, the graphic designer Deborah Littlebird. He watched as his father was inducted into the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian as the first Native American in film, 1972’s “The House Made of Dawn.”

Although Jesse Littlebird has painted and drawn for as long as he can remember, he focused on photography and digital film at the University of New Mexico.

He worked in film, even earning a place as a Sundance Institute Full Circle Fellow.

“Painting was like my plan B,” he said.

But working within the myriad personalities and constraints of a film set wasn’t his style.

“I got very frustrated with film,” he said. “The process of making a movie is a very long process.”

He was painting out of his garage by 2018. Then he was gifted his own studio. He worked in a coffee shop, moved to Barelas then worked for a call center.

“That was my last straw,” he said. “I just decided to paint.”

When the 2020 pandemic hit, he was very much a struggling artist. The coffee shop laid him off.

“I had maybe $400 to my name,” Littlebird said. “I said, ‘I’m going to spend $100 on food and $300 on art supplies.’

“That was the time period when I would shape a narrative in my work.”

In the winter of 2021, a fire destroyed his warehouse, scorching half his work.

“I was very fortunate and gracious to have people help and support me,” he said.

Today, his work marries Western and Indigenous ideas, extracting inspiration from Southwestern landscapes, Indigenous culture and historic perspectives. His Abstract Expressionist style incorporates cultural symbols and motifs.

Like a DJ, he samples from everywhere.

Littlebird created “Brilliant Bulls on Parade,” from fabric and recycled textiles with collaborator CS Rucker.

The crazy quilt of buffalo skulls refers to the famous photograph of a virtual mountain of the bones taken in 1892. Tetilla Peak, located between Santa Fe and Cochiti Pueblo, looms above them.

The motifs above them come from both his own imagination and his culture.

“A symbol can mean so much more than a word,” he said. “I develop symbols myself and do a lot of research on petroglyphs.”

He cites the author and Indigenous academic Vine Deloria Jr., the author of “God is Red,” as a major influence.

“He talks about Native American religion,” Littlebird said. “A lot of our religions are based on space and place. I wanted to reflect stories and what did the world look like before colonization.”