Jack Malotte makes artworks that celebrate the landscapes of the Great Basin, with a unique focus on contemporary political issues faced by Native people seeking to protect and preserve access to their lands. Malotte infuses wry humor into his work, even as he delves into subject matter that is sometimes serious and sobering. His most recent work reconsiders historical narratives and myths of the American West, refers to Western Shoshone and Washoe traditions and legends, and highlights longtime political, environmental, and legal struggles of Native communities.
Malotte was born in Schurz, Nevada, lived in Lee, Nevada as a young boy, and eventually moved to Reno where he attended local schools including Wooster High School. At the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California (1971-74), he was influenced by the work of Arthur Okamura, Jack Mendenhall, and Chuck Close. Malotte also worked as a U.S. Forest Service Firefighter. Malotte, who is Western Shoshone and Washoe, currently resides in Duckwater, Nevada, a rural community located in central Nevada. He is an enrolled member of the South Fork Band of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone.
If you go:
What: The Art of Jack Malotte
Where: Nevada Museum of Art, 160 W. Liberty St. , Robert Z. Hawkins Gallery, floor 3
