Exhibition of ledger art at Exhibit C Gallery in OKC
Exhibit C Gallery’s newest exhibition, “Records and Renderings,” explores the enduring practice of ledger art, showcasing the work of 10 First American artists who continue the powerful tradition of pictorial storytelling. The presentation can be seen at the Oklahoma City gallery through November 2, 2026.
Vibrant figures and symbolic scenes unfold across historical ledger pages, weaving cultural narratives that document moments in time. This art style depicts personal and collective experiences, blending traditional techniques with contemporary storytelling.
The 10 featured artists include Dylan Cavin (Choctaw), Lokosh [Joshua D. Hinson] (Chickasaw), Brent Learned (Cheyenne and Arapaho), George Levi (Cheyenne and Arapaho), Halcyon Levi (Cheyenne and Arapaho), Dustin Mater (Chickasaw), Ronnie Morris (Cherokee), Dolores Purdy (Caddo), Candace Shanholtzer (Choctaw) and Isaiah Stewart (Oglala Sioux).
“I am happy to be part of this exhibition as a Cheyenne artist, as ledger art originated amongst my Cheyenne people in the 1830s,” Cheyenne and Arapaho citizen George Levi said. He learned ledger art from his parents and grandparents..
George Levi continues to pass the art form down to his own daughter, Halcyon Levi, who is also represented in this exhibition.
“The stories told to me by my parents shape my art,” said Halcyon Levi, “I tell a story about who I am not only as an artist but as a young Cheyenne woman.”
Halcyon Levi also uses her art as a tool to inform the public about her Cheyenne people.
Caddo citizen Dolores Purdy said her work veers far from the usual imagery typically seen in most contemporary ledger art.
“’Warrior Art’ is a common description of the ledger art style and was considered a male art form in the past,” Purdy said. “For nearly two decades, I have followed the gender specific traditional art form by using the same medium of antique paper and color pencils, only creating a contemporary version from a female perspective. (In) my work, the images can be humorous or serious while immersed in Native American heritage, iconography and pop culture.”
She said tongue-in-cheek humor, bright colors and vivid whimsical imagery are her way to stand out from the other ledger artists as well as honoring the ancestors.
Chickasaw citizen Lokosh [Joshua D. Hinson] began ledger work during the pandemic.
“Beyond the visual quality to the aged paper, I like the idea of indigenizing things from foreign sources — taking what was once not ours and making it something that reflects who we are as Indigenous people in 2026,” he said.
Lokosh uses varied imagery — Ancestral designs, birds, plant medicines, allotment maps — but it all reflects who he is as a contemporary Chikasha man living and working in the present.
Choctaw artist Dylan Cavin said his ledger work begins with the documents themselves — land deeds, county tax rolls, funeral home registers, the administrative paper trail of a system that sought to quantify and contain Indigenous life.
“I’m drawn to these particular records because they already tell a story, just not our story,” Cavin said. “By working directly on their surfaces — in ink and colored pencil, in the ledger art tradition that stretches from Plains hide painting through the Fort Marion prisoners — I’m bringing it back to that Native story, reauthoring the document from the inside out.”
He said as a Choctaw artist, ledger art isn’t a historical style he is revisiting; it’s a living visual language for articulating sovereignty, survival and belonging in Indian Territory and beyond.
“The land these records describe is the same land my family has occupied for generations,” Cavin explained. “That overlap — between colonial bureaucracy and Indigenous continuity — is where my work lives.”
Together, these works honor a legacy of creativity and adaptability — a testament to the resilience, ingenuity and artistic expression of First American people.
Exhibit C Gallery, located at 645 First Americans Blvd. in Oklahoma City, is open Wednesday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on Exhibit C Gallery, visit ExhibitCGallery.com.
About Exhibit C Gallery
Exhibit C Gallery, Oklahoma City’s premier First American fine art gallery, is a 10,000-square-foot gallery space in the Horizons District of Oklahoma City. Proudly owned by the Chickasaw Nation, Exhibit C Gallery showcases a variety of fine art mediums by First American artists enrolled with a federally recognized tribe. Exhibit C strives to generate awareness and offer exposure for First American artists through fine art sales and superior customer service.
