Muscogee-Creek artist George Alexander (aka. Ofuskie) busts through boundaries with his trademark astronaut on horseback. The Oklahoma-born painter today works out of his bright studio in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico, after earning an undergraduate degree at the Institute of American Indian Arts and a masters in fine arts at the Studio Art College in Florence, Italy. He paints to challenge us to cross, if not eliminate, the many borders we place between each other – tribal, racial, religious, the list can be endless. “I started to use art to help guide my thoughts and explore narratives that would help me better understand who I am as a person.” Alexander’s iconic subject is now also displayed at the National Gallery of Art’s ongoing “The Land Carries Our Ancestors.” Our work, the artist says, represents “humanity’s timeless journey to find purpose and connection.” The bare chested boy’s youthful majesty says he is ready to explore, to go beyond tribal, racial, religious and national lines to reach others. The splatter on the boy’s helmet – his preconceived assumptions about identity – partially obscures his view. Alexander, or Ofuskie, has enormous respect among his peers; his iconic space helmeted man on horseback was the cover shot for the 2023 Santa Fe Indian Market catalog of nearly 1,000 Native artists from all over the country.