Adobe Gallery | August 8-September 16, 2022 | Santa Fe, NM

Pottery Duo

Adobe Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will be opening two in August that should excite pottery collectors as the summer season reaches its peak. The first show, opening August 8 and running through September 9, will focus on ollas, dough bowls and storage jars from the pueblos.

Helen Cordero (1915-1994, Cochiti Pueblo), Cochiti Pueblo storyteller figurine with 14 children, clay and pigment, 12”

“For centuries, the Indigenous Pueblo People have created pottery for utilitarian, ceremonial, and commercial purposes. Adobe Gallery’s exhibit highlights an impressive group of storage jars, ollas, and dough bowls, dating to between 1880 and 1920,” says Alexander E. Anthony Jr., owner of Adobe gallery. “The majority of these pieces were made for use at the pueblos before eventually finding their way to early collectors. Certain later examples were made for the burgeoning market, sometimes at the request of enterprising Santa Fe traders. Each piece in this collection serves as a unique example of an elegant, beautiful art form.”

Ada Suina (Cochiti Pueblo), large Cochiti Pueblo singing drummer figurine, clay, pigments and leather, 13¼ x 7”

The second show, running August 17 to September 16, will highlight storyteller and figurative works from Cochiti Pueblo. “Cochiti Pueblo artists have been creating wonderful figurative pottery since the late 1800s, with subjects and stylistic choices evolving over time,” Anthony says. “In 1964, artist Helen Cordero began creating 'storytellers,’ which would eventually become the most widely collected style of pueblo pottery figurine. These seated human figures with open mouths and children clinging to their bodies paid tribute to her pueblo’s rich history of oral tradition. Adobe Gallery’s exhibit includes major works by Cordero, her contemporaries and many who followed in their footsteps.”

Historic Acoma Pueblo four-color polychrome pottery jar, clay and pigment, 11½ x 13”