Form Focused

Daniel Begay (Diné/Santa Clara)

When asked when he started making pottery, Daniel Begay doesn’t have a definitive answer. “I’ve had my hands in clay my whole life,” says the 35-year-old artist. Begay grew up on the Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico, where the tradition of pottery-making has been passed down his mother’s side of the family for generations. When Begay’s parents returned to the pueblo when he was just an infant, his father, a Navajo painter, took to learning the traditional methods of pottery-making from his wife and her parents. Today, Harrison T. Begay Jr. is recognized as one of the leading innovators in Native American pottery—and set a bar that keeps his son Daniel striving for excellence.

Summer Turtles, Native clay, coil-built, traditionally fired

As a boy, Begay spent countless hours by his father’s side while he worked, but says he intentionally started to practice the craft and hone his skills between the ages of 12 and 15. As Begay progressed through high school, he began to rebel against his father’s more structured, linear style, incorporating more freehand techniques and elements from pop culture influences like hip hop, graffiti and film.

“I consciously wanted to be different than my dad,” says Begay. “So I kind of took a kind of opposite approach. I attribute it to the different cultures I was exposed to.”

Both Begay and his father are known for combining Navajo and Santa Clara Pueblo styles and symbolism in their pieces. There are many examples in the stunning body of new work Daniel created for his first solo show—less than a year after leaving a 10-year position at University of New Mexico to pursue art full time—which will be hosted by King Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Swirling Water Jar, Native clay, coil-built, traditionally fired

Each piece in Form Focused is coil-built, deep carved, traditionally woodfired and stone-polished to achieve a sleek, high shine and matte finish that belies the earthiness of its creation. The process begins with digging and hand-harvesting clay from the inside of hills on pueblo land, a twice-yearly endeavor he savors because his mother joins him, as do his little girls, just as he had as a child.

Square Water Jar, Native clay, coil-built, traditionally fired

“It’s like looking back in time and seeing myself the same way…My parents gathering clay while my sister and I were running around, playing like they are,” he says.

Ironically, Begay has returned to a more meticulously measured, precise approach while his father has expressed loosening his technique. The number four—a number of multilayered significance across Indigenous cultures—plays a role in Daniel’s more contemporary, angular pieces. This style has allowed him to treat each side like an individual canvas, or segments of a narrative that inform the others.

Heartline Bears, Native clay, coil-built, traditionally fired

Begay is currently putting the finishing touches on what has emerged as his personal favorite in the collection, for both symbolic and technical reasons. The neck features 16 feathers—a number divisible by four—and the body an abstracted design of running antelopes. The imagery is a homage to his father who is from Jeddito, Arizona, which translates as “antelope springs,” while the traditional water jar shape is typical of Santa Clara Pueblo vessels.

Artist Daniel Begay

“This one is just a little more special to me,” Begay says. “I’m pretty fond of the shape I made. I’m merging the traditional Santa Clara shape with my Navajo heritage and a nod to where my dad comes from. I’m really excited for it to be done and to get it over to King Galleries for the April show.”

Begay has developed his own distinct style, but no longer wants to be different than his father. “We joke about it,” he says. “I just want to be as good as my dad. It’s always that motivating factor to get to his skill level. I’m fortunate to have someone to learn from and also seek criticism from. This is exactly what I need to get better and better.”

Form Focused opens on April 15, with an artist demonstration from 1 to 3 p.m.

King Galleries
April 15-29, 2023
7077 E. Main Street, #20 Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 481-0187, www.kinggalleries.com