IN THE STUDIO // EXPLORING COLLECTIVE WISDOM WITH BILLY HENSLEY

by Kristin Gentry (Choctaw Nation)

Highly textured mixed media works hang on the walls of any exhibition that includes the work of Billy Hensley. Both a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and a Choctaw Nation descendant, Hensley begins his pieces by layering various types of media before often adding imagery relevant to both his ancestral and contemporary-traditional southeastern tribal cultures. The southeastern tribes, also known as the Five Tribes—those forcibly removed from the southeastern part of the U.S. to what was then “Indian Territory” beginning in the 1830s, today the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Muscogee Creek Nations of Oklahoma—share deep symbology, cosmologies, oral histories and lifeways important to the artist. To complement the influence of tribal weaving that can be seen in the linework of his paintings, Hensley has begun adding beadwork atop the mixed media textures of his most current pieces.

In addition to his own art, Hensley has curated the traveling group exhibition entitled Collective Wisdom , which showcases more than 20 First American artists and will be visible at the Red Earth Art Center in Oklahoma City from July 5 through September 1. Each piece in the exhibition is a unique collaboration between two or more artists. By incorporating their own media and interweaving their various cultures, experiences, and relationships, these artists have developed a representative show that reveals unique facets of the contemporary First American art world.

What prompted the use of beadwork on your art?

I think I’ve always admired beadwork I’ve seen, and I’ve enjoyed watching people make it. I thought it would be a good addition to my work, and it replicates the same textures I paint with my lines. I am inspired by Marcus Amerman’s (Choctaw Nation) style of beadwork, so I made sure he was included in Collective Wisdom

Why do you often focus on the garfish and the crayfish for the subjects of your works?

The crayfish I don’t use as much as the garfish, but it’s part of our [Chickasaw] creation story of building the earth up from the ocean floor. The garfish is more aligned with Chickasaw utilitarian traditions, like using the scales for arrow tips. The garfish jaw bones and teeth were used for traditional tattooing and have been revitalized for that use again today. One of our original Chickasaw dances is called the “hard fish dance” in honor of the crayfish.

Who are the mentors who have been significant to your career as an artist?

Growing up, my mom and grandma were artists, and my grandma was an oil painter. We always drew together. When I went to high school, I met Paul Walsh as my art teacher. He inspired me to become a professional artist and still supports me today. I have my career because of him. I also spend a lot of time learning from my community mentors: painter Brenda Kingery (Chickasaw Nation) and weaver Margaret Roach Wheeler (Chickasaw/Choctaw).

How have you and the artists included in Collective Wisdom created this unique collaboration between artists?

I always thought it would be cool to mix other artists’ work and have maybe ten artists collaborate on one piece. Many times, my friends in our artist community would come over to my home for us to have a meal and create work collaboratively, but I wanted to push the idea to become a little more formal to give us all the chance to create even stronger works.

Although the exhibition pieces involve only two to four artists per work, Hensley’s idea has been successfully executed within Collective Wisdom. Many pieces began with only one artist painting the background or foregrounds onto canvas and then passing the work to a second artist to complete. When viewing the exhibition, the concept may not seem complex, but interesting challenges arose for the artists during creation. In an artist talk at The ARTesian Art Gallery in Sulphur, Dustin Mater (Chickasaw Nation) and other panelists discussed how the process caused some emotional reactions and even fear about painting, printing, or beading on top of another person’s art, an experience that many of the artists included in the show shared. The artists had to learn how to mix their styles with those of other artists while still trying to make sure each person’s work remained present in some form. Another challenge they noted was creating works in media different from those each artist normally worked in. A positive and surprising result came about when printmaker Marwin Begaye (Navajo Nation) noted that he wouldn’t have seen some of the details in Margaret Roach Wheeler’s work if he hadn’t had the opportunity to collaborate directly with her hand-woven textiles for their piece Cultural Algorithms

A selection of works from Collective Wisdom will be traveling from Red Earth Gallery in Oklahoma City to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the next iteration for the Sovereign Santa Fe Expo, inside the historic La Fonda Hotel, which coincides with the Santa Fe Indian Market. Collective Wisdom’s path will then include stops at the University of North Texas, the Museum of the Southeastern Indian in North Carolina, and then later end back in Oklahoma with a showing at the Jacobson House in Norman in the spring of 2024.

I am also happy to announce here that Hensley is slated as the 2023 Mahota Textiles featured artist for his blanket, based on his painting Ascension. Additionally, Hensley will be exhibiting work later this summer at the Rainmaker Gallery in Bristol, UK.

Collective Wisdom can be seen from July 5 through September 1 at the Red Earth Art Center in Oklahoma City. It will also be visible at the Jacobson House in Norman in the spring of 2024, dates TBA. You can learn more about Hensley’s work at billyhensley.com

KRISTIN GENTRY is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. They are an award-winning multidisciplinary visual artist, arts writer, curator, educator and the Director of Community Engagement and Outreach for Native Realities, LLC. They were born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and live with their daughter, Jewell Shooting Star, in Oklahoma City. You can view their artwork at kreativenative.com