Related Events:

• Exhibition Reception & Artist Talk: Friday, October 16, 5:30 – 7:30p.m.

About the Exhibition:

John Well-Off-Man (Chippewa-Cree)’s multidisciplinary practice — spanning printmaking, painting, and video/sound installation — centers on continuity: of memory, movement, land, and language within a broader Indigenous life. Rooted in experiences on Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Montana, his work carries both acts of reflections and change.

One focus is Indigenous language revitalization. Painted Cree syllabics on wood panels emphasize learning as a visual and communal process, encouraging younger generations to continue speaking and sustaining the language.

Well-Off-Man’s prints draw from close observation of natives on the move. Optical patterns and rhythmic mark-making evoke the motion of fancy shawl and jingle dress dancers, capturing fleeting movement through abstraction and experimentation. Other works incorporate QR codes and barcodes, referencing systems of information and commerce while questioning what is made visible — and what is erased — within them, particularly the labor and identity of Indigenous dress makers.

Personal memory and the significance of place remain central to his work. His linocuts, inspired by a longstanding interest in music, reflect and recall his daughters’ training in classical music, performances, and education. Others recall the once-clean waters of Rocky Boy speak to environmental loss and the ongoing impact of industrial development on Indigenous lands. In collaboration with his daughter Sonya Well-Off-Man, the video and sound installation further addresses water contamination, pairing personal history with present realities.

Across different media, Well-Off-Man’s work invites viewers into a space of learning, witnessing, and responsibility — where cultural knowledge, environmental care, and lived experience remain deeply interconnected.

About the Artists:

John Well-Off-Man (Chippewa-Cree) grew up in Havre and on Rocky’s Boy Reservation in Montana. He earned a diploma in photography in Cincinnati and an Associate of Fine Arts in printmaking from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Well-Off-Man went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts and a Master of Arts in Fine Arts, Integrated Arts, and Education from the University of Montana.

His art has been exhibited nationally and internationally, with works included in the permanent collections of the Missoula Art Museum, the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, and the Westphalian State Museum of Natural History in Münster, Germany, among others. Through printmaking, Well-Off-Man addresses pressing issues facing Indigenous communities, focusing on cultural and Indigenous language revitalization as well as environmental challenges. 

Sonya Well-Off-Man (Chippewa-Cree) is a sound artist and engineer exploring how listening shifts across space, movement, and technology. Her work spans performance, installation, and studio environments, where she creates sonic environments that foreground spatial depth, emotional resonance, and the physicality of sound. Drawing from a background in music technology and digital media she blends technical precision with an intuitive approach to composition and sound design. Whether shaping audio for live performance or crafting immersive multichannel environments, her practice reflects a sustained curiosity about how sound can alter perception, guide attention, and transform the experience of place.

Artist Statement:

Acknowledgements:

This exhibition was curated by Nicole Maria Evans, Chief Curator/Director of Curatorial Affairs. Exhibitions at the museum are supported in part by the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana, and the National Endowment for the Arts. We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana's cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund. Additional funding is provided by museum members and the citizens of Cascade County, Davidson Family Foundation, D.A. Davidson, Montana Credit Union, Hotel Arvon, First Interstate Bank, an anonymous donor, and Kelly’s Signs & Design.

America 250 sponsors for this exhibition include Steve L’Heureux and Carol Bradley, Gaines & Beth McFadden, Alanna Zrimsek, and Doug Zody. Thank you!