Painting

White Hawk's paintings function as sites of cultural expression, where Indigenous visual languages resurface through contemporary mark-making. Her canvases contain thousands of precisely applied brushstrokes that echo the rhythmic patterns of Lakota quillwork and beadwork, creating dense fields of color that shift between representation and pure abstraction. These works operate as both formal investigations and acts of historical correction, demonstrating how Native women's innovations both preceded and influenced the Western modernist movements that dominate art history. White Hawk's methodical application of paint mirrors the patient work that Indigenous women have practiced for generations, connecting her studio practice to centuries of cultural tradition. Through saturated colors and geometric forms, these paintings reveal the conceptual depth of Native abstract traditions while prompting viewers to reconsider accepted narratives about American art.