The Reno Tahoe International Art Show features a growing number of North American Native artists in the First Nations & Indigenous Peoples Pavilion.
Staged at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center from September 12 through 15, this year’s event will feature 26 Native American and First Nations artists in the First Nations Indigenous Peoples Pavilion, an area designated specifically to showcase their work. Roughly 14 tribes will be represented, predominantly from the Western United States and Canada, with several from the East Coast and Midwest. Collectors can expect to find a diverse array of paintings, small and large-scale sculpture, pottery, leather, beadworks and jewelry from members of tribes that include Hopi, Navajo, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Qagan Tayagungin, Gos Ventre/Assiniboine, Haudenosaunee, Paiute, Shoshone, Oglala and Sicangu Lakota, Mvskoke Creek-Euchee and others.
Karma Henry (Paiute/Italian/Portugeuse), Pittawa-ti Pami (Looking West), acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20”“Right from the beginning we wanted to have Indigenous fine art as a key highlight of the show,” says show co-founder Kevin O’Keefe. “The show is positioned as the destination fine art show of the West. At the very least we wanted the principal Western tribes’ best works shown at RTIA. That we did when we launched. It has grown to include all North American tribes. The First Nations and Indigenous Peoples [component] is important because it represents a core, unique heritage that needs to be recognized by collectors, buyers and enthusiasts. Secondly, it is an entire category of exceptional art and culture that is gradually fading away. This makes it even more important and precious.”
JJ Otero (Navajo/Hopi), four dragonflies cuff
Among the exhibiting artists are painters Karma Henry and Ronald Chee, sculptor Josy Thomas, multi-media artist JJ Otero and leather artisans Johnny Hendry and Tawnee McKinney, to name just a few. Henry, an enrolled member of the Fort Independence Paiute Community in Eastern California, will be showing paintings like Pittawa-ti Pami (Looking West), a landscape overlaid with Native design elements, “essentially placing Nüümü (Paiute) aesthetics into various geographical situations,” she explains. Collectors can also expect to find distinctive stamped silver jewelry pieces by Otero (Navajo/Hopi); unique stone sculpture by Thomas (Onondaga) and so much more.
“We have curated the presentation working with executive advisors who are Native American fine artists who are expert in the category of paintings, sculpture and multimedia,” says O’Keefe. “The RTIA Show is all about what’s best from a gallery, a studio, a sculptor or an independent. We know the success of any fine art fair is all about exciting and satisfying the audience with great art—because they will buy it. At the end of the day, we want to create a unique, very elegant show where all participants are comfortable, welcome and buying. Fun, easy, rewarding and beautiful.”
Josy Thomas (Onondoga), Wind Spirit, Brazilian soapstone
The RTIA Show opens with a VIP preview event on Thursday, September 12, from 6 to 10 p.m. Public show hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on September 13 and 14; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Visit the show website for tickets and details.
September 12-15, 2024
Reno Taho International Art Show
Reno-Sparks Convention Center 4590 S. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89502 www.rtiashow.com
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