Beginning March 3, King Galleries will have its annual show Innovative Voices, which coincides with the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market. Gallery owner Charles King notes that the show “brings together the work of today’s leading Native potters along with young potters who bring a new perspective and voice to Native art. It is an exciting and dynamic moment in time.” Featured artists include Nathan Youngblood (Santa Clara), Mateo Romero (Cochiti) and Marla Allison (Laguna), among many others, with a special pottery demonstration by Robert Patricio (Acoma). 
Left to right: Nathan Youngblood (Santa Clara), Untitled, red avanyu bowl; Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara), Corn Dancer, native clay jar; Autumn Borts-Medlock (Santa Clara), Soaring, native clay and native clay slips
Viewers and pottery collectors can expect beauties like Santa Clara potter Tammy Garcia’s carved jar titled Corn Dancer, which is inspired by her Pueblo culture and the dances performed there. “I have never made anything like this before,” Garcia explains. “[This includes] the shape, design and how I carved it.” Each of Garcia’s vessels are coil built by hand and the designs are carved into the clay before drying. She then applies clay slips and stone polish for shine.
Artist Juan de la Cruz (Santa Clara) will present several of his highly detailed and complex pottery designs of human figures and animals, seen in pieces like Mountain Lion Jar. “[This jar] is based on a much larger piece of the same theme, whose inspiration was taken from the carved stone lion shrines that can be found at various sites in New Mexico,” Cruz says. “However, with this new piece,
Robert Patricio (Acoma Pueblo), Sunset Lightning, native clay and native clay slips
I wanted to shift the focus away from the human hunters making an offering at the shrine and onto the mountain lions themselves. This new piece allowed for a realistic depiction of the twin stone lions as two actual mountain lions in the process of the hunt. Part of this was an exercise of skill on my part in wanting to see ifI could really convey a feeling of speed and movement with the two mountain lions.”
Al Qöyawayma (Hopi), Whirlwind, native clay and native clay slips.
Furthermore, Cruz wanted to aim for a more realistic representation of the fur on the two big cats by carefully layering different natural clay slips, his painting medium in creating such bold scenes. Cruz has also been experimenting with showing “three-quarter views and layering them in such a way that they directly interact with each other, rather than having an open space separating each one individually,” he says.
For artist Al QÖyawayma (Hopi), it’s all about creating designs and shapes not seen in other work, like in his show piece Whirlwind. “Carving line and color contrasts bring attention in my designs,” he adds. “Precision in execution is important. I also have a large stable of shapes—I’m never confined…Education is a very important tool so that other than aesthetics, knowledge of the source of designs and the culture, history and values play a major role.”
Juan de la Cruz (Santa Clara), Mountain Lion Jar, native clay and native clay slip
The Acoma Pueblo artist Patricio will not only be demonstrating his techniques, but will also have pieces for display during the show. Patricio strives to create bigger works than what he’s more known for, so that he can incorporate traditional designs in his polychrome style. For show piece Sunset Lightning, he says, “[This work] is about how life has given me a second chance. Making pottery keeps me going and is [a symbol] to never stop what I love to do.”
Collectors are urged to visit King Galleries on March 5, from 1 to 3 p.m., to view Patricio’s demo. —
King Galleries
March 3-10, 2022
7077 E. Main Street, #20, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 481-0187, www.kinggalleries.com
Powered by Froala Editor
