Among the tables at Madison Public Market’s soft opening last Wednesday, Blue Bear Studios attracted customers with colorful multimedia artworks. The artist behind these works, Christopher Sweet, also known by his Ho Chunk name Huuc Coo Ga, travelled from Baraboo to be one of the vendors featured in the pop-up events ahead of the public market’s July 23 opening.
“We got invited here for the pop-ups, and we had to jump at the opportunity,” he said. “I love the location; it’s a beautiful building”.
Sweet began painting professionally in 2016. In the last 10 years, his work has been exhibited in the Pablo Center at the Confluence in Eau Claire, Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, and All My Relations Gallery in Minneapolis. After building his craft for five years, he opened his Blue Bear Studio in 2021, which serves as a gallery and a gift shop. There, he sells prints, notecards, and bags displaying his designs.
“I also have sculptures and large original paintings there,” he said.
His studio, Blue Bear, is an English translation of his Ho-Chunk name. This name links Sweet’s artwork to a deeper personal meaning connected to his heritage and colonial history.
“There were many Ho Chunk villages all throughout this area, so it’s an honor just to be here and be able to represent Ho Chunk and share the culture,” Sweet said. ”A lot of the culture in my artwork shows and that’s important to me.”
In the 1830s, the federal and Wisconsin territorial governments forcibly displaced the Ho Chunk Nation from their land in what is now the southern region of Wisconsin.
Blue Bear Studios has an educational aspect to its pieces, showcasing Ho Chunk teachings and sciences. “While I’m here, I want to be able to share the culture and share my work. My works have stories behind them.” Sweet said. “For example, the Three Sisters- corn, beans, and squash- share the knowledge of planting techniques.”
In addition to vending at The Madison Public Market, Sweet is busy working on his Three Sisters structure.
“I’ll be repainting them and they’ll be going up in Tenney Park. The opening will be from August 1st into November,” Sweet said. “It will be a temporary installation that’s part of a larger project with the Teejop Community History Public Art Project.”
This program seeks to recount Indigenous histories in the city through a Ho-Chunk perspective. Sweet will be one of several Native artists contributing pieces to the project.
Blue Bear Studios will be vending at the Madison Public Market’s pop-up events every Wednesday from 3:30 to 7 pm until July 1. Beyond The Market, Sweet’s art can be found in his gallery at 612 Oak Street, Baraboo.
