Dark Carnival
Tony Abeyta, Diné (Navajo Nation) / American, born 1965
2017-2024
Acrylic on canvas (diptych)
Overall: 82 × 120 in. (208.3 × 304.8 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Virginia and Preston T. Kelsey 1958 Fund, the Julia L. Whittier Fund, the Acquisition and Preservation of Native American Art Fund, and the William B. and Evelyn A. Jaffe Fund
© Tony Abeyta
2024.47ab
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
21st century
Object Name
Painting
Research Area
Painting
Native American
On view
Label
Inspired by his visits to Standing Rock during the 2016 protests against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, Abeyta depicts the chaos of both pop culture and contemporary political struggles. Brightly colored flowers, a large bee, and the surrounding grenades mirror destructive industrial impacts to the environment. Meanwhile, the scene filled with candy, toys, and pattern-rich portals offers a playfulness that is simultaneously eye-catching and distracting from the harm taking place alongside it. The title of this diptych, Dark Carnival, evokes this idea of something attractive that, at its core, disguises a threat or danger.
From the 2026 exhibition American Pop, curated by Jami Powell (Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs & Curator of Indigenous Art), Evonne Fuselier (Hood Museum Board of Advisors Mutual Learning Fellow, Curatorial), and Beatriz Yanes Martinez (former Hood Museum Board of Advisors Mutual Learning Fellow, Curatorial, 2021-2024)
Exhibition History
American Pop, Churchill and Dorothy Lathrop Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 13, 2025 - November 7, 2025.
Provenance
The artist, Tony Abeyta, Santa Fe, New Mexico; sold to present collection, 2024.
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