Natalie Ball: Grab a Plate

The objects of Natalie Ball are enigmatic, potent, and visually stunning. Erratic patches of fabric stretch and drape across rough-hewn armatures. Knobby, anthropomorphic sticks are outfitted with shoes, wrapped with tule ropes, and adorned with deer fur. Born and raised in Portland, Ball studied Maori art in New Zealand and is currently earning an MFA in painting from Yale. "I work to move 'Indian' outside of governing discourses to complicate an easily affirmed and consumed narrative and identity without absolutes," she says of her work. grab a plate will lend new texts to this ongoing discourse through figurative sculpture, assemblage, and sound.