Sky Hopinka:
Red Metal Dust
Until January 18, 2027
An installation of 11 new works by the American artist.
Installation view of Sky Hopinka: Red Metal Dust, 2026. Photo © Barnes Foundation
Free
About the Exhibition
The Barnes presents Red Metal Dust, a new site-specific installation of photographic landscapes by acclaimed multimedia artist Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians). Hopinka is known for his deeply personal perspectives on Indigenous homelands and landscapes, expressed through experimental films, lyrical calligrams, and meditative photography.
Referencing the Ho-Chunk name for copper, Red Metal Dust features 11 large-scale works that layer photographic prints with copper sheets to explore place and Indigenous identity. Hopinka calls this approach to landscape “a layered field of return, where images accumulate, echo, and settle into one another over time.”
Commissioned by the Barnes for the United States’ 250th anniversary, the installation thoughtfully examines and interrogates the American experience and its histories. Red Metal Dust marks Hopinka’s first solo photography presentation in the Philadelphia region.
Sky Hopinka: Red Metal Dust was initiated for the Barnes by Nancy Ireson.
Note to visitors: This installation is free and open to the public. Though admission is not necessary to experience Red Metal Dust, you may be asked by Barnes staff to show a ticket upon entering the building. Simply say you are here to visit the installation, and you will be admitted into the Annenberg Court.
Sponsors
Sky Hopinka: Red Metal Dust is sponsored by:
Generous support is provided by the City of Philadelphia and an anonymous donor. Additional support is provided by Dennis Alter, the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, Mary Jo Grdina and Walter A. Brogan, Margaret C. Hallenbeck, Arthur M. Kaplan and R. Duane Perry, James McKinney, and Sarah Morthland.
Ongoing funding for exhibitions comes from the Christine and Michael Angelakis Exhibition Fund, Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Exhibition Fund, Lois and Julian Brodsky Exhibition Fund, Elaine W. Camarda and A. Morris Williams, Jr. Exhibition Fund, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Christine and George Henisee Exhibition Fund, Aileen and Brian Roberts Exhibition Fund, and Tom and Margaret Lehr Whitford Exhibition Fund.
In addition, funding for all exhibitions comes from contributors to the Barnes Foundation Exhibition Fund:
Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, Joan Carter and John Aglialoro, Julia and David Fleischner, Victoria McNeil Le Vine, Leigh and John Middleton, Jeanette and Joe Neubauer, and Aileen and Brian Roberts
John Alchin and Hal Marryatt, N. Judith Broudy, Emily and Michael Cavanagh, Marianne N. Dean, Eugene and Michelle Dubay, Penelope P. Harris, Jones & Wajahat Family, Lisa D. Kabnick and John H. McFadden, Victor F. Keen and Jeanne Ruddy, Marguerite Lenfest, Maribeth and Steven Lerner, Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, Cathy and Henry Nassau, The Park Family, Wendy and Mark Rayfield, Anne and Bruce Robinson, Adele K. Schaeffer, Katie and Tony Schaeffer, Donna and Jerry Slipakoff, Dr. and Mrs. Eugene E. Stark, Joan F. Thalheimer, Bruce and Robbi Toll, van Beuren Charitable Foundation, and Randi Zemsky and Bob Lane.