Eric-Paul Riege

{{Infobox artist | honorific_prefix = | name = Eric-Paul Riege | honorific_suffix = | image =  | image_size = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name =  | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1994}} | birth_place = Gallup, New Mexico | baptised =  | death_date =  | death_place = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | education = University of New Mexico | alma_mater = | known_for = fiber art, performance art | notable_works = | style = | movement = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | father = | mother = | relatives = | family = | awards =  | elected = | patrons = | memorials = | website = {{URL|ericpaulriege.com}} | module = }}

'''Eric-Paul Riege''' (Diné/Navajo) (b. 1994, Na'nízhoozhí, Gallup, New Mexico) is a fiber artist who creates installations and performance art. Riege believes his work to be an homage to generations of weavers, and considers his work as an immersion in "ceremonies, and rituals, from his past, future, and present selves."<ref name="IAIA-AIR">{{cite web |title=Spring 2021 Museum of Contemporary Native Arts Social Engagement Art Residents Announced |date=8 March 2021 |url=https://iaia.edu/spring-2021-mocna-social-engagement-art-residents-announced/ |publisher=Institute of American Indian Art |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-date=21 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021073548/https://iaia.edu/spring-2021-mocna-social-engagement-art-residents-announced/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Riege lives and works in Gallup, New Mexico.<ref name="Artsy">{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Shannon |title=Eric-Paul Riege |url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artsy-vanguard-2020-eric-paul-riege |access-date=3 September 2021 |publisher=Artsy |date=2020 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918083744/https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artsy-vanguard-2020-eric-paul-riege |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Early life== Riege, who is Diné on his mother's side and Anglo on his father's side, grew up in Gallup, New Mexico. He was influenced and inspired by his maternal great-grandmother, a weaver and activist from Burntwater, Arizona who was affected by the Bureau of Indian Affairs "livestock reduction" program in the 1930s.<ref name="NT">{{cite news |last1=Keane |first1=Colleen |title=Diné student honors family at exhibit, performance |url=https://navajotimes.com/ae/culture/dine-student-honors-family-exhibit-performance/ |access-date=3 September 2021 |publisher=Navajo Times |date=20 April 2017 |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605170119/https://navajotimes.com/ae/culture/dine-student-honors-family-exhibit-performance/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He learned how to sew from his mother.<ref name="GS">{{cite news |last1=Valasco |first1=Dee |title=Navajo tradition, culture influences artists |url=https://issuu.com/makf/docs/dt_lil_gallup_sun_126_web/3 |access-date=3 September 2021 |publisher=Gallup Sun |date=1 September 2017 |archive-date=3 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903163709/https://issuu.com/makf/docs/dt_lil_gallup_sun_126_web/3 |url-status=live }}</ref> His father, who is originally from Ohio, is a hotel manager and an Air Force veteran.<ref name="NYT-gallup">{{cite news |last1=Ferguson |first1=Adam |title=Places Hardest Hit by the Corona Virus |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/27/business/economy/the-place-hit-hardest-by-the-virus.html |access-date=3 September 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=27 December 2020 |archive-date=3 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903163712/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/27/business/economy/the-place-hit-hardest-by-the-virus.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SFNM">{{cite news |last1=Weideman |first1=Paul |title=Inviting history in: Eric-Paul Riege |url=https://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/art/inviting-history-in-eric-paul-riege/article_18e260db-7376-519d-9fb5-ae72bc8b76b1.html |access-date=3 September 2021 |publisher=Santa Fe New Mexican |date=3 August 2018 |archive-date=31 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731231820/https://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/art/inviting-history-in-eric-paul-riege/article_18e260db-7376-519d-9fb5-ae72bc8b76b1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Navajo Times states that Riege is ''Naaneesht'ézhi Táchii'nii'' (The Charcoal Streak Division of Red Running into the Water People), born for ''Béésh bichʼahii"'' (Metal Hat People-German).<ref name="NT" />

==Education== Riege received a BFA in 2017 in studio art and ecology, with a minor in Navajo language and linguistics from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.<ref name="PNO" /><ref name="NT" />

==Exhibitions== Riege's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions including those at the SITElines 2018 Biennial at SITE Santa Fe, that commissioned a new work from him.<ref name="AJ">{{cite news |last1=Roberts |first1=Kathaleen |title=Natural storyteller |url=https://www.abqjournal.com/1195997/natural-storyteller-ex-gallup-artist-is-the-only-new-mexican-featured-in-sitelines.html |access-date=3 September 2021 |publisher=Albuquerque Journal |date=13 July 2018}}</ref> He has also exhibited at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, AZ,<ref name="IAIA-AIR" /> and the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM.<ref name="NHCC">{{cite web |title=Performance in the Museum With Artist Eric-Paul Riege |url=https://www.nhccnm.org/event/performance-museum-artist-eric-paul-riege/ |publisher=National Hispanic Cultural Center |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605170119/https://www.nhccnm.org/event/performance-museum-artist-eric-paul-riege/ |url-status=live }}</ref> His work was featured in the Prospect New Orleans Biennial, ''Yesterday we said tomorrow''<ref name="PNO">{{cite web |title=Eric-Paul Riege |date=5 November 2019 |url=https://www.prospectneworleans.org/artist-profiles/eric-paul-riege |publisher=Prospect New Orleans |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605170127/https://www.prospectneworleans.org/artist-profiles/eric-paul-riege |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Toronto Biennial, Canada.<ref name="IAIA-AIR" />

In 2019, Riege had a solo museum show at the ICA Miami, titled ''Hólǫ́—it xistz'' (to exist). The show included woven sculpture, wearable art, and durational performance.<ref name="ICA Miami">{{cite web |title=Eric-Paul Riege: Hólǫ́—it xistz |url=https://icamiami.org/exhibition/eric-paul-riege/ |publisher=Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918234405/https://icamiami.org/exhibition/eric-paul-riege/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A catalog was produced in conjunction with the show with texts by Szu-Han Ho.<ref name="Catalog">{{cite book |last1=Ho |first1=Szu-Han |title=Eric-Paul Riege: Hólo-It Xistz |date=2020 |publisher=Institute of Contemporary Art |location=Miami |isbn=9780996690669 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJMJyAEACAAJ |access-date=3 September 2021}}</ref> The titles of his works and exhibitions reflect his interest in language and linguistics.<ref name="AIA">{{cite journal |last1=Duke |first1=Ellie |title=Eric-Paul Riege: The New Mexico fiber and performance artist sees life as a loom |journal=Art in America |date=March 2022 |pages=11–12}}</ref>

[[File:Jaatłoh4Ye'iitsoh (3-4), 2020, Eric-Paul Riege at NGA 2023.jpeg|thumb|right|''jaatłoh4Ye'iitsoh [3-4]'' (2020) at the National Gallery of Art in 2023]]

In 2020, the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ commissioned him to produce ''jaatłoh4Ye'iitsoh no. 1-6'' for the show ''Larger than Memory: Contemporary Art From Indigenous North America.''<ref name="HM">{{cite web |title=Eric-Paul Riege |url=https://heard.org/larger-than-memory/artist/eric-paul-riege/ |publisher=Heard Museum |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618105434/https://heard.org/larger-than-memory/artist/eric-paul-riege/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2021 the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum presented a temporary installation and performance that Riege created in response to Jeffrey Gibson's monumental sculpture, ''Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House''. Riege's performance was an expression of the Diné/Navajo word ''Woshdee'!'' which translates to "come in." Riege states that: "The word is an invitation to a loved one or a stranger" to honor Gibson's title of his sculpture.

In 2021 he had a solo show at the Bockley Gallery, Minneapolis, titled ''(my god, YE'ii [1-2]) (jaatłoh4Ye'iitsoh [1–6])'' (a loom between Me+U, dah 'iistł'ǫ́) ''"earring for the big god"''.<ref name="BGal">{{cite web |title=Bockley Gallery Welcomes Diné Artist Eric-Paul Riege for his First Minnesota Exhibition |url=http://www.bockleygallery.com/press_release.pdf |publisher=Bockley Gallery |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-date=30 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930230626/http://bockleygallery.com/press_release.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="MA-Walker">{{cite web |last1=Regan |first1=Sheila |title=Eric-Paul Riege: (my god, YE'ii [1-2]) (jaatłoh4Ye'iitsoh [1–6]) (a loom between Me+U, dah 'iistł'ǫ́) |date=11 June 2021 |url=https://mnartists.walkerart.org/eric-paul-riege-my-god-yeii-1-2-jaatloh4yeiitsoh-1-6-a-loom-between-meu-dah-iistl%C7%AB |publisher=Minnesota Artists (Walker Art Center) |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-date=14 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814090543/https://mnartists.walkerart.org/eric-paul-riege-my-god-yeii-1-2-jaatloh4yeiitsoh-1-6-a-loom-between-meu-dah-iistl%c7%ab |url-status=live }}</ref> In the same year he was featured in a group show, ''Make-Shift-Future'', at Regan Projects, Los Angeles.<ref name="Artforum">{{cite journal |last1=Hundley |first1=Elliot |title=Make-Shift-Future Regen Projects |journal=Artforum |date=2021 |url=https://www.artforum.com/spotlight/regen-projects-85460 |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605170117/https://www.artforum.com/spotlight/regen-projects-85460 |url-status=live }}</ref> Also in 2021, Riege presented a durational performance at the Montclair Art Museum as part of the ''Color Riot!: How Color Changed Navajo Textiles'' exhibition.<ref name="MAM">{{cite web |title=Eric-Paul Riege – [][][][] |url=https://www.montclairartmuseum.org/events/museum-events/eric-paul-riege |website=Montclair Art Museum |access-date=14 October 2022 |archive-date=14 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014003016/https://www.montclairartmuseum.org/events/museum-events/eric-paul-riege |url-status=live }}</ref> Riege's work was featured in the multi-year project, ''STTLMNT: An Indigenous Digital World Wide Occupation'', in Plymouth, UK, conceived by Cannupa Hanska Luger and the UK based collective, The Conscious Sisters. The project "promotes a digital occupation by Indigenous Peoples within the context of the 400 year commemorations of the Mayflower's arrival in North America."<ref name="SFR">{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Riley |title=Next Phase for Residencies |url=https://www.sfreporter.com/arts/2021/03/12/next-phase-for-residencies/ |access-date=3 September 2021 |publisher=Santa Fe Reporter |date=12 March 2021 |archive-date=31 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731234841/https://www.sfreporter.com/arts/2021/03/12/next-phase-for-residencies/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

For the 2022 Toronto Biennial of Art, he exhibited the installation, ''a home for Her'', incorporating a collection of weavings and looms in collaboration with the women weavers in his family.<ref name="AIA" /><ref name="TBA">{{cite web |title=Eric-Paul Riege at Small Arms Inspection Building |url=https://torontobiennial.org/work/eric-paul-riege-at-small-arms-inspection-building/ |website=Toronto Biennial of Art |access-date=14 October 2022 |archive-date=14 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014003020/https://torontobiennial.org/work/eric-paul-riege-at-small-arms-inspection-building/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Riege presented ''Hólǫ́llUllUHIbI [duet]'' for the 2022-2023 winter season at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. The large-scale sculptures, which are suspended from the ceiling, represent to what the artist calls "totems of memory" and are reminiscent of ornate jewelry and trees swaying in the wind.<ref name="Hammer">{{cite web |title=Hammer Projects: Eric-Paul Ridge, Nov 12, 2022–Feb 19 2023 |url=https://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/2022/hammer-projects-eric-paul-riege |website=UCLA Hammer Museum |date=11 October 2022 |access-date=23 November 2022 |archive-date=23 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123134920/https://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/2022/hammer-projects-eric-paul-riege |url-status=live }}</ref> He has described his associated performances as teaching him about the correlation between weaving and the structures and systems of the human body.<ref name="ANN">{{cite web |last1=Townsend |first1=Eileen |title='It Is a Playground For Me:' How Artist Eric-Paul Riege Is Surfacing the Indigenous Identity in His Soft Sculptures and Live Performances |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/eric-paul-riege-hammer-projects-frieze-la-2253890/amp-page |website=ArtNet News |date=15 February 2023 |access-date=22 February 2023 |archive-date=22 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222045153/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/eric-paul-riege-hammer-projects-frieze-la-2253890/amp-page |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Performance=== Riege describes his durational performances (which can last for several hours) as a way for him to use his body as a fiber "interacting with looms, the regalia and the installation."<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last1=Rutter |first1=Samuel |last2=Youngquist |first2=Caitlin |title=10 Queer Indigenous Artists on Where Their Inspirations Have Led Them |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/t-magazine/queer-indigenous-artists.html |access-date=3 September 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=23 April 2021 |archive-date=3 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903163709/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/t-magazine/queer-indigenous-artists.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Honors and awards== In 2019 Riege received a fellowship from the Art Matters Foundation.<ref name="Art Matters">{{cite web |title=Eric-Paul Riege |url=https://artmattersfoundation.org/grantees/eric-paul-riege |publisher=Art Matters Foundation |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-date=3 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903192816/https://artmattersfoundation.org/grantees/eric-paul-riege |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2021, Riege received a New Work Project Grant from the Harpo Foundation to produce an installation for Prospect New Orleans.<ref name="HF">{{cite web |title=Eric-Paul Riege and Prospect New Orleans |url=https://www.harpofoundation.org/eric-paul-riege-and-prospect-new-orleans-new-work-project-grants/ |website=Harpo Foundation |date=4 January 2022 |access-date=14 October 2022 |archive-date=3 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003142810/https://www.harpofoundation.org/eric-paul-riege-and-prospect-new-orleans-new-work-project-grants/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2026, Riege was named a United States Artists (USA) Fellow.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eric-Paul Riege |url=https://www.unitedstatesartists.org/artists/eric-paul-riege |access-date=2026-03-10 |website=United States Artists |language=en}}</ref>

==Collections== Riege's work is included in the permanent collection of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami,<ref name="ICA-collection">{{cite web |title=Eric-Paul Riege diyogí [diyin+...2], 2018 |url=https://icamiami.org/collection/eric-paul-riege-diyogi-diyin-2-2018/ |publisher=Institute of Fine Art Miami |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-date=1 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801164851/https://icamiami.org/collection/eric-paul-riege-diyogi-diyin-2-2018/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the Denver Art Museum, the Tia Collection in Santa Fe, and the Montclair Art Museum.<ref name="ANN" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== Biggers, Ashley M. [https://www.newmexicomagazine.org/blog/post/new-generation-of-dine-weavers-on-navajo-nation/ "Meet the Next Generation of Diné Weavers"], ''New Mexico Magazine'', July 2021

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riege, Eric-Paul}} Category:1994 births Category:Living people Category:American performance artists Category:Navajo male artists Category:21st-century American textile artists Category:American installation artists Category:21st-century Native American artists Category:Textile artists from New Mexico Category:21st-century American male artists Category:Native American people from New Mexico Category:Navajo weavers