The New Britain (CT) Museum of American Art presents John Hitchcock: We are Defined by the Beat, from May 16 through November 29, 2026, the artist’s first mid-career retrospective. For over three decades, John Hitchcock (b. 1967) has transformed the sonic and cultural rhythms of his homeland into a distinct visual language.
An enrolled member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma with Comanche and Northern European ancestry, Hitchcock merges personal expression with references to intertribal powwows, the Wichita Mountain landscape of his youth, and the symbols and languages of Great Plains Native populations. Working across printmaking, neon, textiles, sound, video, and installation, Hitchcock merges traditional and contemporary art forms to pay homage to his ancestors, confront histories of Indigenous displacement and trauma, and celebrate community, resilience, and survival.
John Hitchcock: We are Defined by the Beat explores Hitchcock’s evolving integration of visual and sonic forms. Important series—including Flatlander (2011-18), Bury the Hatchet (2019-2020), Blanket Songs (2022-2023), Soundscapes (2021-2024), and Celebration (2025)—synchronize sound and image, ritual and resistance. In the exhibition, the “beat” becomes both metaphor and structure, signifying the rhythms of nature, bombs, heartbeats, and life cycles, and the persistence of culture and tradition across generations, through which Indigenous presence endures.
Hitchcock’s creative practice is deeply shaped by his ancestral home within the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribal lands of Medicine Park, Oklahoma, located between the sacred Wichita Mountains and Fort Sill, a United States Army post and artillery range established in 1869. Within this environment, the sounds of wildlife mingle with the percussion of artillery and helicopters, while the songs of Kiowa and Comanche people echo in counterpoint to military anthems. This coexistence of harmony and dissonance—of nature, culture, and conflict—is central to Hitchcock’s evocative work.
As Hitchcock describes: “This work is related to the ancestral memory of land and how sound affects our people. The relationship to the history of warfare at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the spiritual importance of the Wichita Mountains to the descendants of this area. All of us who grew up there, and how this affects our mindset.”
At the New Britain Museum of American Art, Hitchcock’s powerful imagery invites a deeper understanding of identity, land, and belonging in America. As an institution dedicated to the art of this nation, the Museum is committed to advancing inclusive narratives of American art and history. Building on that commitment, this exhibition follows on the heels of the Museum’s 2024 presentation of The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans, curated by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith in collaboration with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Hitchcock’s monumental installation Impact vs. Influence, a centerpiece of that exhibition, served as a catalyst for this focused survey.
“John Hitchcock’s work reminds us that the story of American creativity began long ago,” says Curator and Head of Exhibitions Lisa Hayes Williams, “with the Indigenous people who have stewarded this land for millennia. Across vibrant and varied media—neon, prints, sculpture, installation, and sound—Hitchcock acknowledges and invites audiences to more keenly understand the trauma and beauty within that long history and its relevance to our contemporary experience as Americans and global citizens.”
Engaged early in his career by pioneering artists including Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Hitchcock has made his own mark within contemporary artistic practice, while fostering the next generation of Indigenous scholars and artists through collaboration, mentorship, and teaching.
Related Programming:
Members Opening Reception
Friday, May 15, 5:30-7 p.m.
Celebrate the opening of John Hitchcock: We are Defined by the Beat, featuring a musical performance by The Stolen Sea. Museum Members and all tribal members will receive complimentary admission for the Opening Reception.
An expansive indie and folk-rock ensemble based in Madison, Wisconsin, The Stolen Sea features musicians Nate Meng, Allison Lenz, Hannah Edlén, John Hitchcock, and Ryan Lansing. The group will perform music from the albums Blanket Songs and Bury the Hatchet. Combining storytelling, sound, and visual art, the performance explores the intersections of living Native cultures, contemporary society, and history.
Artist Talk | John Hitchcock
Saturday, May 16, 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Join artist John Hitchcock for a discussion about his special exhibition John Hitchcock: We are Defined by the Beat.Adult Studio Workshop | Drawing from the Land with John Hitchcock
Sunday, May 17, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Jean Holden Eminent Visiting Artists Workshop Fund
Led by artist John Hitchcock in connection to his exhibition, participants will use various drawing tools to create vibrant artworks that reflect their experiences of what is above, on, and beneath the land. The session will include observational, imaginative, abstract, and collaborative drawing, focusing on patterns, shapes, and design elements.
Learn more at https://nbmaa.org/exhibitions/john-hitchcock
