Innholdsfortegnelse for December-January 2025/No. 54 i Native American Art Magazine

Silver bracelet cuffs first made by Southwestern Indian silversmiths have enduring design appeal. Pieces from the first 70 years of construction display classical qualities that Native jewelry makers employ to this day. A look at seven early Navajo and Pueblo bracelet forms from a private collection makes it possible to see how construction, materials and patterning come together. These characteristics reveal why the beauty of these seminal bracelet designs lies in their structure. When John Adair began interviewing Navajo smiths in the late 1930s, he learned that the designs each artist made on their jewelry came wholly from their imaginations. Yet there were cultural connotations embedded in their visual choices, whether from the number of stones set, to representations of the natural world on surface decoration. Historic-era bracelet design was…

SANTA FE, NM This December, Palace Jewelers at Manitou Galleries presents its highly-anticipated Holiday Jewelry Showcase, featuring a dazzling array of the finest Native (and non-Native) American pieces that reflect the diverse artistry and heritage of Southwestern jewelry making. Curated by Tsali Hall (Diné), director of Palace Jewelers, the show includes 250 jewelry works by renowned artists such as Jennifer Curtis (Diné), Curtis Pete (Diné/Hopi), Arland Ben (Diné), Roger Wilbur, Valerie Fairchild, Don Supplee (Hopi), the Lee Family (Diné), Darryl Dean Begay (Diné) and many more. Work by artists of this caliber can be found in museum collections and the pieces they create are highly sought-after by collectors. Collectors, holiday shoppers and jewelry enthusiasts will have the opportunity to meet the artists, and learn about their process, and the inspiration…

Like many jewelers, JJ Otero lets the stones guide his design aesthetic. It sounds simple, but it can get complex very quickly, especially when most artists have hundreds of stones in their possession, each calling out for specific designs. “When there’s a stone I like, that’s what I want to feature. A great stone in a quality setting, that’s what people want to see and that’s what I like showing them,” Otero says. “I also think my aesthetic is a lot more reserved. Sometimes I tell collectors that they’re paying for my restraint. Because a lot of times, I feel like I could go in directions that aren’t justified, so I pull back so the piece doesn’t look busy.” Clean, elegant designs that favor stones. This is what his collectors…

Widely recognized as one of the greatest jewelers of his generation, Navajo artist Jesse Monongye, known for his masterful use of stones and inlay, died August 6, 2024, in Phoenix. He was 71 years old. A colorful figure, who had a big personality and often wore a cowboy hat to shows, Monongye is revered by many jewelers for his unequaled inlay work, which was so tight and complex that the artist could replicate the stars in the night sky and create complex scenes in a menagerie of colorful stones on the side of a bracelet, into a pendant or on a bolo or belt buckle. His stones, some barely bigger than the head of a pin, required delicate hands and an exact eye, which is reflected in his stunning works,…

Samuel LaFountain is adaptable, which is probably one of those clutch artist characteristics that no one else really talks about. He can work in many different styles, with many different stones, and he can use techniques as varied as repoussé, fabrication, tufa casting and so much more. He can also go from traditional to contemporary at ease. “Living in Santa Fe, I have access to all the traditional, Navajo-style jewelry. But as I’ve been traveling, I’ve been seeing influences all over, which made me get inspired by the contemporary side of jewelry,” LaFountain says. “Lately, I’ve been seeing architectural influences but also organic shapes and designs. My dad was a stone carver, a contemporary stone carver, so I like looking at forms and seeing what I could replicate from him.”…

LAS VEGAS, NV When show owner and longtime Western art dealer Brian Lebel moved his hit Western show from Mesa, Arizona, to Las Vegas, there was immediately some quality-of-life changes that collectors and dealers enjoyed: an active nightlife that didn’t close at 9 p.m., multiple restaurants within walking distance and access to a huge Western city known for its extravagance. But just under the hood, down just a little further, Lebel noticed things that were even more encouraging: high participation, active bidding, increased foot traffic and no drop-off in attendance from the Arizona show. The move, by all accounts, was a success. Now, Lebel and Morphy Auctions are returning to Las Vegas for the Old West Show & Auction on January 24 and 25 at the Westgate Resort & Casino.…

LOS ANGELES, CA Bonhams’ final auction of the year, the highly anticipated Native American Art sale, offers an impressive 380 lots across an exciting two-day format. Ingmars Lindbergs, Bonhams director of Native American art, comments that “by offering a combination of carefully curated, individual collections, with a broad selection of material from a variety of owners, this auction will offer a diverse selection of historic Native American material at a wide variety of price points.” For the sale’s first day, held on December 11, collectors and enthusiasts alike will find curated, single-owner collections. This includes a selection of early Southwestern pottery, assembled by noted Los Angeles artist Anthony (Tony) Berlant; historic pueblo pottery from the home of California Senator Dianne Feinstein; and a selection of fine historic Plains and Plateau…

ONGOING MONTCLAIR, NJ Interwoven Power: Native Knowledge / Native Art Montclair Art Museum (973) 746-5555 www.montclairartmuseum.org ONGOING SANTA FE, NM Painted by Hand: The Textiles of Patricia Michaels Museum of Indian Arts & Culture (505) 476-1269 www.indianartsandculture.org ONGOING INDIANAPOLIS, IN Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight Eiteljorg Museum (317) 636-9378 www.eiteljorg.org ONGOING SANTA FE, NM Carved Stories by Mavasta Honyouti Wheelright Museum of the American Indian (505) 982-4636 www.wheelwright.org ONGOING SANTA FE, NM Off-Center: New Mexico Art, 1970-2000 New Mexico Museum of Art Vladem Contemporary (505) 476-5062 www.nmartmuseum.org/vladem-contemporary/ ONGOING LOS ANGELES, CA Reclaiming El Camino: Native Resistance in the Missions and Beyond Autry Museum of the American West (323) 667-2000 www.theautry.org DECEMBER 6-31 SANTA FE, NM Holiday Jewelry Showcase Palace Jewelers at Manitou Galleries (505) 984-9859 www.manitougalleries.com DEC. 14 2024-MAY 4, 2025 CARTERSVILLE,…

The first award presented at the 2024 Santa Fe Indian Market was to Sarah Aragon in the jewelry classification. Stepping up to the microphone, she began speaking in the Diné language to the several hundred people in the room but was almost immediately overcome with emotion as tears welled up in her eyes. After taking a brief moment to compose her thoughts, Aragon went on to speak about her life, her family, her break from the art world. Just five minutes into what would be a long awards ceremony, and there was Aragon providing one of the most riveting and inspirational speeches of the day. She had won the top jewelry award for an elaborate horse headstall titled Back in the Saddle, due to her long absence from Santa Fe Indian…

Native American jewelry is not only visually stunning, but serves as a brilliant gift for those who value high-quality, one-of-a-kind pieces. For our December/January issue, we’ve brought together some of the finest, most talented jewelers in the country, along with historic pieces offered by iconic shops and galleries. Shop throughout this section—full of variety and impressive craftsmanship—to find the perfect gift for the jewelry lover in your life, or take home a gem of your very own. TIM BLUEFLINT RAMEL Tim Blueflint Ramel is a citizen of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Drawing inspiration from his familial stories, historical perspectives and life experiences, Ramel’s works are highly detailed, infused with care and creative passion. Beginning with the finest curated natural and gem quality stones, he combines and…

SANTA FE, NM Now on view through April 12, 2025, at the Wheelright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, is the first solo museum exhibition celebrating the innovative vision of Hopi carver Mavasta Honyouti. Carved Stories by Mavasta Honyouti features 30 recent works by the artist and 16 low-relief panels that were used to illustrate his children’s book Coming Home: A Hopi Resistance Story, released in November 2024. Each plaque in the series reads like a page in a book and is a visual re-telling of the traumatic experiences of Clyde Honyouti, the artist’s grandfather, in an off-reservation federal boarding school in the 1920s, interwoven with scenes of Honyouti’s fond childhood memories of his grandfather. Coming Home begins with Honyouti’s recollection of working with and watching his grandfather…

MONTCLAIR, NJ In 2020, New Jersey’s Montclair Art Museum received a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to hire a curator of Native American Art and “to develop new strategies for the presentation of MAM’s collection of the Native Art of North America in [its] Rand Gallery and throughout the museum.” MAM was founded in 1914 with a significant collection of historical and contemporary Native American Art. The Luce grant enabled the museum to assemble an advisory council of Native and non-Native scholars, curators and art world colleagues, and to hire Laura Allen as curator. Allen was curatorial associate for the Northwest Coast Hall renovation at the American Museum of Natural History from 2017-2018, where she facilitated the project’s Indigenous partnerships. The result of MAM’s rethinking its Native American collection…