ARTIST STATEMENT

My work begins swiftly and intuitively, as momentum shapes the composition on canvas. I challenge myself to integrate the physical environment around me with its unseen emotional life. Gradually the narrative of the piece is revealed. From here I work to detail the painting’s subject in nuances. My process focuses on fluidity of form and boldness of palate, bringing the unseen alive in a way that will inspire in my audience a revelation of ideas, color, and form; reshaping their relationship to what they take for granted.

ARTIST BIO

Yatika Starr Fields was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he is of the Cherokee, Creek/ and Osage tribes, and is a member of the Bear Clan. His Creek name "Yvtekv" means Interpreter. He was given his Osage name, Ho-moie, (Among the heavenly bodies) during an Osage Native American Church meeting on his first birthday. When he was seven years old he was initiated into the Osage I'n-lon-ska dance society, Hominy District.

Yatika is a graduate of Stillwater High School class of 2000. He was the president of the Art Club and was instrumental in organizing a club trip to the museums and galleries of New York City, a first for the small club. He has been making art since he was a child. His drawings, paintings and collages were sophisticated and showed a natural intuitive understanding of composition and design. His talents and creativity were nurtured by his exploration of various mediums, video, photography, including mixed media assemblages, and found objects.

Yatika's work has been recognized for several years during the Red Earth Indian Art Market in Oklahoma. He has won awards for drawing, clay sculpture, and in 1992 he won an award for a video titled "The Dance." During the summer of 1998, he was accepted into the prestigious Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, where he studied sculpture. He was subsequently accepted in 1999, to study painting, and 2000 to study photography.

In 1999 Yatika was one of four students in Oklahoma to receive an American Vision Award, for a painting entered in the Scholastic Art Competition. He traveled to Washington DC and received the award at the John F. Kennedy Center. His monochromatic painting was selected to be in the National Scholastic Art Exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC. During the Oklahoma Regional Scholastic Art Competition 2000 held at Tulsa University, he received several awards included; Gold Regional Portfolio, three gold keys in Painting, four gold keys in Photography, and one gold key for a Video.

In March of 2000 Yatika was a recipient of The Oklahoma State Superintendents Award for Art Excellence 2000. During the summer of 2000, Yatika traveled to Sienna, Italy where he studied landscape painting. On the weekends he traveled to Florence and Rome to study the works of art by the masters. Yatika was selected to represent all Native American youth artists at the Asian Pacific Economic Council (APEC) Young Artists' Exhibition during the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, November 12-17, 2000. The theme was "Contemporary Indigenous Arts -Discovering the Roots". While there he painted a mural with other youth artist from the 21 member countries.

Yatika attended the Art Institute of Boston where he studied for a year. During his years living in Boston, Yatika continued to paint and became involved in the urban graffiti culture. It was during this time that he became involved in large area painting and started working on mural projects. Recently Yatika was selected to participate in the Native Youth Arts Leadership Initiative, a project sponsored by Atlatl to assist the next generation of Native American artists. He attended workshops and lectures with visiting artists, such as Fritz Sholder, learning the role of an artist and how to become a leader among Native People. The sessions were held in Seattle, WA, Santa Fe, NM, and Phoenix, AZ.

During the summer of 2004, Yatika participated in a Native Youth Night, where he collaborated on a graffiti mural with another Native artist. This project was in recognition of the mixture of popular and hip-hop culture in the artwork of young Native American artists. It was held at the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum in Santa Fe, NM. During July of 2004 he was selected to paint an original mural for his Osage Tribal Casino. He was selected over more experienced artists because of his initiative and original subject approach.

Yatika is represented by Addison/Parks Gallery in Santa Fe. NM. He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, where he continues to paint and experience the creative energies and inspirations of urban life.

Website:

www.nativefields.com