Mixed-media artwork of a central figure in a surreal ocean landscape with waves resembling humans
Image Credit

Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe and European descent, born 1979), Anti-Retro, 2018.19-layer screenprint on White Coventry Rag paper; 33 1/2 x 47 3/4 in. Published by Highpoint Editions, Minneapolis, MN. Denver Art Museum: Native Arts acquisition funds and funds from the Ralph L. & Florence R. Burgess Trust, 2020.881. © Andrea Carlson, courtesy of the artist and Highpoint Editions

Andrea Carlson: A Constant Sky

A la vista hasta el 16 de febrero de 2026

Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe and European descent, born 1979), Anti-Retro, 2018.19-layer screenprint on White Coventry Rag paper; 33 1/2 x 47 3/4 in. Published by Highpoint Editions, Minneapolis, MN. Denver Art Museum: Native Arts acquisition funds and funds from the Ralph L. & Florence R. Burgess Trust, 2020.881. © Andrea Carlson, courtesy of the artist and Highpoint Editions

A Constant Sky is the first museum survey of mixed-media visual artist Andrea Carlson (Ojibwe and European settler descent, b. 1979). Carlson creates works that challenge the colonial narratives presented by modern artists, museum collections, and cannibal genre horror films. Utilizing a combination of text and complex visual references to animals, art objects, and cultural belongings, Carlson creates prismatic landscapes that foil American landscape genre painting.

Known for her intricate, colorful works drawn and painted with many different mediums, Carlson recently expanded her practice to include sculpture. Columns for a Horizon, a monumental sculptural work, will be presented in the exhibition in two installations. The exhibition will also feature 30 works on paper spanning her career, highlighting three large-scale paintings presented together for the first time—as the artist originally intended them to be shown.

Carlson’s meticulous, multilayered art expands the narrative around how landscape and narrative function in a colonial space. By drawing objects from museum collections and placing them in her own landscapes, Carlson refuses the idea of a singular ownership and deconstructs what it means to be interpreted by others.

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Tours

Discover three artworks in 30 minutes in docent-led tours of A Constant Sky. Tours occur at 1:30 pm on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Learn more.

Larger-than-life white sculpture-like figures set against a surreal, colorful landscape

Andrea Carlson (descended from Grand Portage Ojibwe and European settlers, b. 1979), Cannibal Ferox, 2008. Oil, acrylic, color pencil, graphite on paper; 45 1/2 x 61 in. Denver Art Museum: Native Arts acquisition funds and funds from the Ralph L. & Florence R. Burgess Trust, 2020.886A-D. © Andrea Carlson

Serena lake landscape in the center of a swirling black and white-patterned vantage point

Andrea Carlson (descended from Grand Portage Ojibwe and European settlers, b. 1979), The Tempest, 2008. Oil, acrylic, ink, color pencil, and graphite on paper; 94 in. x 120 in. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Brian A. Tschumper and Benton Greer, 2023.486A-P. © Andrea Carlson

Angelic figure in the middle of a surreal, abstract scene with large monster-like eyes flanking the sides

Andrea Carlson (descended from Grand Portage Ojibwe and European settlers, b. 1979), The Poison that is its Own Cure, 2007. Oil, acrylic, ink, color pencil, and graphite on paper; 22 x 30 in. Collection Bockley Gallery, Minneapolis. © and courtesy of Andrea Carlson

Wolves gazing at a surreal sun-like circular designed to look like a world-within-a-world.

Andrea Carlson (descended from Grand Portage Ojibwe and European settlers, b. 1979), Truthiness, 2007. Oil, acrylic, ink, color pencil, and graphite on paper; 22 x 30 in. Collection Bockley Gallery, Minneapolis. © and courtesy of Andrea Carlson

Savage, teeth-baring animals like a monkey and a brown bear centered around a dark, surreal mountain landscape

Andrea Carlson (descended from Grand Portage Ojibwe and European settlers, b. 1979), Deep River Savages, 2009–2010. Mixed media on four sheets of heavy wove paper; 45 1/2 x 60 1/2 in. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa: Purchased 2011. © Andrea Carlson. Photo courtesy NGC

Mud-soak apocalyptic landscape with careening vehicles in the foreground

Andrea Carlson (descended from Grand Portage Ojibwe and European settlers, b. 1979), Apocalypse Domani, 2010. Oil, acrylic, ink, color pencil, and graphite on paper; 45 1/2 x 61 in. (overall). Collection Bockley Gallery. © and courtesy of Andrea Carlson

Repeating panels depiciting a white, tall, Babel-like building structure

Andrea Carlson (descended from Grand Portage Ojibwe and European settlers, b. 1979), Ink Babel, 2014. Ink and oil on paper; 115 3/8 x 183 3/8 in. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: Restricted gift of Emerge, 2021.12.a-hhh. © and courtesy of Andrea Carlson

Surreal desert landscape with an intricately-designed yellow road leading toward a monolith-like structure

Andrea Carlson (descended from Grand Portage Ojibwe and European settlers, b. 1979), Sunshine on a Cannibal, 2015. Oil, acrylic, ink, color pencil, graphite, gouache, pastel and watercolor on paper; 46 x 180 in. (overall). Lent by the Minneapolis Institute of Art: The Mr. and Mrs. Bernard M. Granum Fund. © Andrea Carlson

Surreal landscape with larger-than-life heads inviting the eye toward an exit sign

Andrea Carlson (descended from Grand Portage Ojibwe and European settlers, b. 1979), Exit, 2018. Edition of 20. 21-layer screenprint on White Coventry Rag paper; 34 ½ x 47 ¾ in. Published by Highpoint Editions, Minneapolis. Private collection. © 2018 Andrea Carlson, courtesy of the artist and Highpoint Editions.

Large, surreal tapestry of a mountain landscape and abstract faces, animals, and images

Andrea Carlson (descended from Grand Portage Ojibwe and European settlers, b. 1979), Ancestor and Descendant, 2023. Oil, acrylic, ink, color pencil, graphite, gouache, pastel, and watercolor on paper; 47 in. x 182 in. Collection of the artist. © and courtesy Andrea Carlson

A Constant Sky is the first museum first museum survey of mixed-media visual artist Andrea Carlson.

In this video, hear Carlson talk about how her studies in linguistics, specifically Ojibwe, lead her to create artwork that is as dynamic as storytelling. She also speaks about her inspiration and the process behind the work in this exhibition.

Video created by Steven J. Yazzie.

Andrea Carlson: A Constant Sky is organized by the Denver Art Museum. It is presented with generous support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Christensen Fund, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.

The Gallagher Gallery is sponsored by Your Six Front Range Toyota Stores.