Utah Museum of Fine Arts hosting sprawling Marie Watt exhibition

The Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) at the University of Utah will open a major exhibition of work by interdisciplinary artist Marie Watt until June 21, showcasing more than three decades of her printmaking and storytelling practice.

Titled Storywork: The Prints of Marie Watt from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, the exhibition, which opened February 21, features more than 60 works spanning Watt’s career since 1996. The show will also include large-scale blanket stacks, hanging textiles, and small sculptures that reflect her broader artistic practice.

Watt, a member of the Seneca Nation with German-Scots ancestry, is widely recognized for work that bridges history, culture, and community. Her practice, which she describes as “storywork,” explores themes of kinship, memory, and shared responsibility through materials such as textiles, wood, and found objects.

“I view materials as sites for storytelling, repositories of experiences, vulnerabilities, and histories,” Watt said. “The story does not start or end with a singular work, but expands beyond what is visible, carried forward by the meaning-making viewers bring to the work.”

In 2025, Watt received the prestigious Heinz Award, which includes a $250,000 prize honoring contributions across the arts, economy, and environment. She is also collaborating with Chicago-based artist Nick Cave on This Land, Shared Sky, a site-specific installation slated for permanent display at the Obama Presidential Center when it opens later in 2026.

Drawing on both Indigenous and non-Indigenous traditions—including Greco-Roman mythology, pop culture, and oral histories—Watt’s work encourages viewers to reflect on their relationships to past and future generations. Her approach is inspired in part by a Klamath elder’s teaching: “My story changes when I know your story.”

Collector Jordan D. Schnitzer, whose foundation organized the exhibition, praised Watt’s impact. “Marie Watt is one of the most important American artists of our time,” he said. “Her art helps us understand stories and symbols of Native communities.”

UMFA Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Emily Lawhead said the exhibition arrives at a critical moment. “Storywork is a powerful reminder of our interconnectedness at a time when such reflection feels urgent and necessary,” she said.

The exhibition is organized by the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation in partnership with University Galleries at the University of San Diego and curated by John Murphy. The UMFA presentation is curated by Lawhead.

An opening celebration on Feb. 21 will include a free, all-ages printing circle led by Watt at 1 p.m. in the museum’s G.W. Anderson Family Great Hall. Participants will create printmaking plates and prints that may be incorporated into future works by the artist.

The exhibition runs through June 21, 2026, at the UMFA, located in the Marcia and John Price Museum Building on campus. Admission details and additional information are available on the museum’s website.