The Art of Jack Malotte

Designed at the Nevada Museum of Art

Services: Book Design + Production Management

Exhibition Curator: Ann M. Wolfe

Year: 2019

The process started with a studio visit to remote Duckwater, Nevada. Jack Malotte greeted our team, and we poured over his flat files of archives, most of which has never been seen before.

After spending time with Malotte and getting to know his process, it was obvious that his sketchbooks, blank and lined, are the soul and spirit of his work, in my opinion. I wanted to translate the way he documented his travels in sketches and create a contrast of his past and present - by juxtaposing works and yielding a visual narrative through time.

About the Exhibition: Jack Malotte makes artworks that celebrate the landscapes of the Great Basin, with a unique focus on contemporary political issues faced by Native people seeking to protect and preserve access to their lands. Malotte infuses wry humor into his work, even as he delves into subject matter that is sometimes serious and sobering. Malotte’s most recent work reconsiders historical narratives and myths of the American West, refers to Western Shoshone and Washoe traditions and legends, and highlights longtime political, environmental, and legal struggles of Native communities.