February in the Bear Gallery:
Roots to Horizons by Tehya McLeod & Another Norther by J Maria Maldo
On View: February 7- March 1, 2025
First Friday Opening Reception:
Friday, February 7, 5–7 p.m.
(Gallery opens at noon on First Fridays)
The Bear Gallery is located on the third floor of the Alaska Centennial Center for the Arts building in Pioneer Park, 2300 Airport Way, Fairbanks, Alaska.
Admission to the Bear Gallery is free of charge and open to the public.
Fairbanks Arts Association is proud to host J Maria Maldo and Tehya McLeod as the first solo exhibitions of 2025. Their work will showcase a captivating collection of color and theme as they reflect their personal histories and journeys.
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Roots to Horizons by Tehya McLeod
Tehya McLeod is a local artist based in Fairbanks. Growing up in Alaska meant adventuring galore; hiking across mountains, skiing in sub-zero temperatures, and camping in some of the most gorgeous places on earth. Through this adventuring, she found inspiration as an artist. She primarily works with acrylic paints and, more recently, various printmaking processes. Drawn to saturated colors and vivid skies, her work brightens any space in the dark winter months.
Tehya has worked on interdisciplinary projects at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, collaborating with scientists researching wildfires and permafrost thaw as a previous URSA grant recipient. She received a bachelor’s degree in Drafting and Design from UAF and is pursuing art alongside architectural design. Her work has been featured in solo and group shows across the state.
McLeod’s exhibition, Roots to Horizons, began with a focus on the comforts of home and family, the traditions and places that evoke a sense of belonging and connection. The artist notes, “This collection of familiar patterns and places reflects on how traditions shape our sense of belonging and how those traditions change over time as we grow and build our individual futures.”
This body of work reflects the artist’s journey through the evolving nature of traditions and invites viewers to consider their own traditions and sense of belonging.
Follow along with Tehya McLeod’s art on Instagram @tehyamcleodart
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Another Norther by J Maria Maldo
J Maria Maldo (b.1988) is a Native American self-taught contemporary abstract artist based in Alaska. Maldo was born and raised in Southern California and has lived in Alaska for over a decade, raising her child and working as a caregiver for an individual with disabilities. Maldo is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist. Each art piece begins with prayer, as Maldo is a devout Christian. Maldo comes from a small beach town located a few miles away from a larger industrial city. Her upbringing shaped her work by bringing in both natural and urbanization influences.
Maldo has worked with textiles, beads, and paint for 20 years. Primarily creating meaningful gifts for friends, Maldo has now shifted to showing her art. This shift has come from Maldo noticing other artists’ work in the Lowbrow and Outsider art movements. These self-taught unconventional artists often blend city influence with surreal imagery. Maldo has been working on ink-based paintings for years and is thrilled to share these images.
Regarding her work, Maldo shares that, “Highly pigmented inks & paint were chosen to represent aspects of my life. I create movement with a variety of unconventional tools. This method of painting allows dense pools of ink and soft, delicate edges to integrate into nebulous shapes.”
Fairbanks Arts programs are made possible in part by support from Individual and Corporate contributions and by grants from Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Emerald Isle / Lotto Alaska, and the Richard L. and Diane M. Block Foundation.
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