Innholdsfortegnelse for December-January 2023/ No. 42 i Native American Art Magazine

Welcome to Native American Art magazine’s December/January issue! We hope the cover of this issue with Ben Nighthorse’s stunning bracelet warms you up to what you can expect from the rest of the issue. Inside we have our popular jewelry and sculpture buyer’s guides. Both jewelry and sculpture are highly regarded within Native American culture. It is no wonder that some of the most beautiful expressions of Native American art come from jewelry and sculpture. It is an ongoing art form that is continually expanding boundaries with metals, stones and other materials, but also with new processes that bring collectors exceptional art they can wear and collect. You will see many of your favorite artists in this issue. We are getting ready for 2023, and we are expanding our calendar…

1. Adobe Gallery Now available at Adobe Gallery is this exceptional acrylic painting, Mimbres Scorpion by Santa Clara Pueblo artist Helen Hardin. The painting dates to 1977, when it was entered in competition at the New Mexico State Fair. “With Mimbres Scorpion, Hardin offered a fine tribute to the artworks of her ancestors,” the gallery notes. “The scorpion itself imitates earlier forms beautifully while also incorporating the artist’s own stylistic preferences. The remarkable background accomplishes the same feat within its intricate web of razor-thin lines and atomized paint droplets. In an ambitious and inventive move, Hardin wove the creature and its habitat together by allowing the background pattern to merge with the scorpion’s body. All of this remarkable work was completed using various shades of green, which further unifies each…

As a child, my cousins and I would sometimes accompany a relative to visit our great aunt who lived alone with her tiny chihuahua. I loved getting to visit her home because it was filled with all sorts of novel knickknacks and curios that we weren’t allowed to touch. My cousins and I would carefully slink around and exchange subtle wide-eyed glances when we saw something that caught our eye. Amidst all of the dolls, miniature dioramas and other fascinating novelties was a curio cabinet. We thought this was one of the most beautiful pieces of furniture we had ever seen because the shelves inside were made of glass and it was elaborately carved of polished dark wood, but the lock on the door also communicated an element of forbiddenness…

SANTA FE, NM Palace Jewelers at Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will be presenting its very first jewelry auction with online bidding beginning November 21. The First Annual Palace Jewelers Auction will feature nearly 200 lots and will include a variety of jewelry at many price points, including major pieces from several top artists. One of the early top lots is a gold katsina necklace made with Mediterranean coral by Hopi jeweler Emmett Navakuku. The beaded strands are adorned with gold star and katsina designs. The work is estimated at $15,000 to $25,000. Navajo jewelry artist Wes Willie will have several works in the sale, including a yellow gold cobblestone inlay cuff bracelet (est. $5,500/11,500) with sugilite, opal, turquoise and coral, and also a yellow gold and sterling…

Around 1000 B.C., the Cherokee occupied vast stretches of land among the Great Smokey Mountains and the southern Appalachians. They mined copper, which they hammered with stones into sheets that they formed into jewelry, arrow points and cooking utensils. Copper working gave way to the use of silver, iron and steel with the arrival of Europeans. An elaborate 13th-century repoussé copper plate was discovered as part of the regalia of an Etowah chief in northwest Georgia. It is now in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution which notes, “This plaque would have served as an emblem of office awarded a chieftain and would have accompanied him as a sign of his strength among the ancestral spirits.” The Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual (QACM)…

It’s always exciting to watch as the stories and photos start arriving for the issues we’re working on. Although it’s still early at that point, I can begin to envision what the issue is going to look like and get excited for our readers. This issue has been especially fun to watch develop. Our jewelry sections are always popular and the artwork is out-of-this-world spectacular, but this year it is particularly strong with stunning work from a variety of incredibly talented artists. And then we also have our first-ever sculpture section. The two of them together—jewelry and sculpture—really pack a punch. Please be sure to check out those sections, and everything else in this issue because you won’t be disappointed. I also want to draw your attention to another story…

Subscribe today to get the best Navtive American art magazine in the country, and the only bi-monthly magazine that highlights the top artists, galleries, museums, fairs and auctions throughout the art market. Need proof? The proof is in your hands. Flip through this issue to see the best coverage of Navtive Art: » Previews of all the biggest markets, shows and sales. » Special genre sections highlighting unique categories of art such as pottery, textiles and jewelry. » The leading coverage related to Santa Fe Indian Market, the Heard Museum Indian Guild Fair & Market and other top events. » Insight from renowned experts, authors and curators. Find out what all the artists, dealers and collectors are talking raving about by subscribing to Native American Art magazine. Get your subscription…

You know Nighthawks even if you don’t recognize the name. Edward Hopper’s 1942 painting of three figures seated around the counter of a late-night diner with an employee waiting on them, comments on urban isolationism, the “aloneness” of city life amongst throngs of people as America was shifting from a rural and agrarian nation into an industrial one. The image has been endlessly parodied to feature characters from The Simpsons, Disney princesses and, most famously, Gottfried Helnwein’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams, featuring Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, James Dean and Elvis Presley. Nighthawks is so famous it has a famous imitation. The painting was acquired shortly after completion by the Art Institute of Chicago—among the small handful of the world’s elite art museums—and has been on view there ever since. Arguably…

Ben Nighthorse Campbell grew up watching his father make jewelry. The Southern Pacific Railroad was about a quarter mile from his house and was a convenient place to flatten silver coins to get the raw material for his jewelry making. As a U.S. Congressman and, later, a U.S. Senator from Colorado, he kept his jewelry-making equipment in his Washington, D.C., condo. “It was easy to put a piece in my pocket and take it home to Colorado to work on it there,” he explains. Today, he is the winner of more than 200 national and international awards in jewelry design under the name Ben Nighthorse. He received the name “Nighthorse” in a Northern Cheyenne name-giving ceremony. He explains that he is related to the Blackhorse family. “Indian and English words…

Within this section, we celebrate finely crafted jewelry pieces made by some of the best artists working today, and all the work is available for purchase. Also present are historic pieces that have stood the test of time and call to past traditions and master jewelers. While today we see fine examples that include exquisite gemstones, minerals, turquoise and precious metals made into cuff bracelets, necklaces, rings and earrings, we must also take note of the past, when Indigenous Peoples of North American helped set the stage for the artwork seen today. The jewelry featured here is a magnificent selection of the past and the present, and even a glimpse at the future. GREY DOG TRADING Veronica Poblano is justly famous for her innovative, fanciful jewelry that both honors and…

Allan Houser, the iconic Chiricahua Apache sculptor, had famously started his career in paintings and then eventually transitioned to sculpture. Oreland Joe has been working that same path but in reverse. Having started his career as a sculptor, and achieving a great amount of success, Joe started working from an easel with paint. But now, after more than two years of working almost exclusively as a painter, the Navajo/Southern Ute artist is once again bringing sculpture back into his studio—and occasionally, because his stone slabs are so big, outside of the studio as well. “I enjoy being spontaneous in the studio,” Joe says from his home in Kirtland, New Mexico. “I have people come in wondering what I’m going to be doing tomorrow. I’m spontaneous because it’s an itch that…

Having grown up in his native Santo Domingo Pueblo, “Ca’Win” Jimmy F. Calabaza was brought up to love the land, his culture and the beauty of the art around him. Without realizing it, he was learning the techniques of jewelry, pottery, bow-and-arrow making along with other art forms by helping his parents and grandparents. Before becoming a prominent artist, Calabaza explored a variety of industries, including jobs related to the automotive field, sheet metal fabrication, land surveying and even as a Hot Shot firefighter. Later, after meeting his wife, Olivia, he began dabbling in jewelry. He would make traditional heishi and nugget necklaces and then go to the Navajo Nation to sell and trade with the Navajos. After a plant he was working at closed, Calabaza’s mother, Celestina, gave him…

MESA, AZ The Mesa Old West Show & Auction is returning to Mesa, Arizona, on January 20 through 22, and it will once again offer a variety of Western and Native American material in both an auction and a dealer show. Show owner Brian Lebel is excited to return to Mesa. “It’s always good to be back in Arizona,” he says. The auction portion of the annual event will feature more than 700 lots across two sessions on January 20 and 21. The sales, both of which start at 5 p.m., will include almost every category of Native American art, from jewelry and pottery to beadwork, quillwork, weavings, sculpture and much more. Lots will include works from living artists, but also historic artwork and objects from the 19 th century.…

ROSE ART MUSEUM A recent acquisition of four significant works has come to the permanent collection of the Rose Art Museum in Waltham, Massachusetts. Two Native American artists are represented in the acquisition, including Seneca artist Marie Watt and Jeffrey Gibson, a multi-faceted Mississippi Band Choctaw/Cherokee artist. BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY, by Gibson, is a vibrantly patterned mixed media piece, consisting of canvas, acrylic paint, glass beads, artificial sinew, nylon thread, a vintage beaded belt buckle, vintage beaded whimsey and a vintage beaded bag. The piece—which looks like a bright, futuristic quilt—calls to Gibson’s Indigenous heritage and queer identity as well as the aesthetics and biases associated with those identity markers. “We are thrilled to welcome the exceptional work of Jeffrey Gibson, Barkley L. Hendricks, Peter Sacks and Marie Watts…

Artistic pendants made as jewelry forms by Native American jewelers took off after World War II. Midcentury pendants for adornment, hung on silver beads or chains, became a popular cross-cultural form at roughly the same time as the bolo tie with its decorative central plate. These new suspended ornaments charmed buyers seeking the novel and inventive. Each piece aptly highlighted its maker’s unique use of materials, techniques and personal vision. The designs that resulted could be abstract or figural, but always featured something appealing about Indian culture. Seven recent examples of contemporary artistic pendants exhibit distinctive design characteristics. Some of these pendants pay direct homage to tribal tradition, others spin off into a visually satisfying stylishness. Each decorative composition exhibits at least two superb visual examples of design elements at…

PHOENIX, AZ On the heels of the Southwest Silverwork exhibition, the Heard Museum has put together another exhibition that showcases another aspect of Native American silver: boxes. “Through the years, our visitors have had such an interest in silver jewelry and metalwork of the Southwest, so it’s something we exhibit with some frequency,” says Diana Pardue, chief curator of the Heard Museum. The idea for Elegant Vessels: A Century of Southwest Silver Boxes, which is on view now, was first suggested by John Krena, owner of Four Winds Gallery in Pittsburgh. The Heard Museum has a number of silver and copper boxes in its collection, but Krena has been collecting them for a number of years and sent around 170 to the museum. Guest curator and historical metalwork specialist Robert…

Rose Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo) views it as a gift. The ceramic figure. Since birth, she has been surrounded by them. Her mother, Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara Pueblo), was among the first to take pueblo pottery from the historic to the contemporary. Swentzell’s ceramic figures which were considered radical three decades ago are now prized by museums and collectors. To Simpson, they were an everyday part of growing up. She didn’t need permission or innovation to explore the figure through her sculpture. With intimate access to the most cutting-edge figurative clay artwork being produced, radical was normal, and she started where many take years to reach. That empowered Simpson to push her work even further. To expand beyond her mother’s practice and blaze trails no artist has before. “I’m looking…

Native American sculpture is often considered quite diverse, in that pieces can be created in clay, bronze, wood or stone, among other materials, and encompass a wide range of styles, themes and subject matter. This can include artwork that depicts holy figures or animals, intricately designed pottery and even narrative and landscape scenes. Whatever it may be, each piece carries with it a tradition or influence from the past, with some contemporary artists adding in their own unique flare. Within this section, we feature an array of significant sculpture pieces available for purchase by artists of today and traditional pieces from past generations. ADOBE GALLERY Al Qöyawayma’s bronze Corn Maiden, which was completed in 1985, presents an abstract depiction of one of the Hopi culture’s most significant figures. With this…

FLAGSTAFF, AZ Every year the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona, highlights one major, regional artist. This year, the honor goes to the prolific Navajo artist Baje Whitethorne Sr. In around 30 pieces including monoprints, watercolors and acrylic paintings, the exhibition titled Nááts, íilid/Rainbow Light chronicles Whitethorne’s career in expressing light and color found among the landscape of his home near Shonto, Arizona. “The thing I really love about him is the warmth of his personality but he’s also a great storyteller,” explains museum curator Alan Peterson. “They are honest, down to earth stories about being human and growing up and living on the Navajo reservation. Some are good stories and some are sad, but the paintings are very compelling glimpses into his life. There just so endearing—you get a…

SANTA FE, NM Every year, the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture names a new “Living Treasure.” Part of the annual Native Treasures Art Market, the award honors Native American artists who have made outstanding artistic contributions to the field of Indigenous arts and culture. Cochiti Pueblo artist Virgil Ortiz, the 2022 Living Treasure, is one of the most innovative potters and designers of his time, combining elements of decor, fashion, and even film, within his artwork. Currently on view at the MIAC, ReVOlution celebrates the vast and varied work of Ortiz. The exhibition runs through April 1, 2023. With a career spanning four decades, Ortiz’s work is undeniably electrifying. He combines his oueblo culture with sci-fi, fantasy and apocalyptic themes—creative works of art that feel way ahead of their…