Every year near the holiday season, Adobe Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, holds its Native American Nacimientos exhibition. The show features figurine sets, created by various living and deceased Native artists, that depict religious scenes in the form of wood carvings, clay and other materials, represented across a diverse range of tribal affiliations.
Stella Teller (Isleta), Isleta Pueblo 12-figure pottery Nacimiento, clay and pigments, 5" (tallest)
Tom Yazzie (Navajo), Diné 11-piece Nacimiento set (detail), carved wood, 9" (tallest)
“Nacimiento is the Spanish word for nativity scene or crèche. This art form has been popular in Europe since the 15th century,” says Alexander E. Anthony Jr., owner of Adobe Gallery. “This show has become a holiday tradition for Adobe Gallery’s staff and clients.”
Among the various scenes featured in this holiday season’s exhibition is a series of 11 painted wooden figurines by Navajo artist Tom Yazzie, a 12-figure clay set by Isleta potter Stella Teller, and 10 polychrome pottery figures by Santa Clara artists and siblings Margaret and Luther Gutierrez. Each scene portrays the nativity story with its own unique voice and visual aesthetic.
Margaret Gutierrez (Santa Clara, 1936-2018) and Luther Gutierrez (Santa Clara, 1911-1987), Santa Clara Pueblo polychrome 10-piece pottery Nacimiento, clay and pigments, 35/8" (tallest)
Stella Teller (Isleta), Isleta Pueblo 12-figure pottery Nacimiento (detail), clay and pigment, 5" (tallest)
Anthony continues, “The first known Native American-made nativities appeared in the late-1950s. In 1961, the International Museum of Folk Art exhibited the extensive nativity scene collection of Alexander Girard, which included two Native sets. The exhibit increased interest in the art form, encouraging Native artists to create their own works,” he says. “By the 1970s, artists from a variety of tribes were creating and selling Nacimientos. Today, the sets are widely appreciated and enthusiastically collected.”
The exhibition will be on view at Adobe Gallery November 20 through December 24.
Adobe Gallery
November 20-December 24, 2020
221 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 955-0550, www.adobegallery.com
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