July - August 2025

Jordan Ann Craig

Film directed by Alexa Caravia for Fountainhead Arts

Jordan’s residency was generously sponsored by Leomi Foundation.

In blankness lies the unknown, the endless, and the approachable. For Jordan Ann Craig, a month spent in residence in Miami through Fountainhead was a period to explore the thrill of having no official plan, literally and figuratively, for this next iteration of her practice. Sitting on the makeshift shelves of the garage door that serves as a wall in Craig’s temporary studio, the saturated tubs of paint call towards a brighter approach to color in this session of exploration. A blue that vibrates, hot oranges and sultry reds that parallel the burn of the Miami sun setting in the sky, a muted pink that is as sweet as it is elegant. Digitally designing the overall layout first on Photoshop with the shape tool and then transferring the renderings onto canvas, there’s a methodical touch behind Craig’s smooth compositions. What appears simple is incredibly intentional, as the artist’s process is reflected in the raw sides of the works. Drips and wet sanding border precision, telling the calculated and messy decisions of her fingerprints, rendering chaos into order. 

The Southwest meets the Southeast. Abstraction pulling from ancestry, Craig paints through the study of her Northern Cheyenne heritage. Material culture in the form of pouches and moccasins materialize into layers painted onto a grid, more layers than can be counted on two hands. Scavenging inspiration from items found in online auctions or web engines, the coloring Craig utilizes is not necessarily true to the original beadwork. It is fused with the aesthetics of her own eye. A willingness to scrapbook together the ancestral with the hues and shades calling to her in a present moment. The artist pulls the tape away from the surface in order to reveal a secret in the form of a geometric scheme. Painting, beading, weaving—it’s all mathematical.

Words by Isabella Marie Garcia

Jordan Ann Craig

Jordan Ann Craig is based in New Mexico.

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