Doug Hyde (Assiniboine/Nez Pearce/Chippewa), Hopi Evening Butterfly 

“The organic quality and materials of this work makes it a perfect fit for the Botanical Garden, which is located on the ancestral homeland of the Tewa people and where we highlight the use of indigenous plants in the landscape,” says David A. Young, executive director of the SFBG, who co-curated the exhibition with creative contributor Joshua Rose.

When looking at the contemporary Indigenous sculpture being created in the Southwest, Young and Rose add that two main elements stand out: the medium and the subject matter. “When it comes to life-sized monumental sculptural works, the art is either hand-carved in alabaster, limestone, stone or marble, or cast in bronze or metal,” they say. “The artists, on the other hand, move back and forth between working in both natural materials and cast bronze. Regardless, it is a labor-intensive, hands-on creative process that requires an eye for design and the ability to render their subjects life-sized.”

Doug Hyde (Assiniboine/Nez Pearce/Chippewa), People of the Red Tail Hawk, bronze

Highlighted in the exhibition are artists Doug Hyde (Assiniboine/Nez Pearce/Chippewa), Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo), Greyshoes (Upton Ethelbah Jr.) (Santa Clara Pueblo/White Mountain Apache), Kathleen Wall (Jemez Pueblo), Adrian Wall (Jemez Pueblo), Cliff Fragua (Jemez Pueblo) and Sean Rising Sun Flanagan (Taos Pueblo).

Fragua, for instance creates his pieces in stone, and are based on the artist’s culture and ancestral teachings. “I have chosen stone as my medium of expression because it is a combination of the basic elements of the earth. I feel the honesty and purity of this most basic of material permits me to express myself from the heart, and to express the spirit that Native people respect and revere as embodied in the stone,” he shares. “Based on Native American themes, my work shows pride for the Pueblo culture and a deep understanding of the inherent spirituality of the stone.

Cliff Fragua (Jemez Pueblo), Undulating Vim, Portuguese pink marble

Also sculpting in stone, Greyshoes is inspired by the dances and ceremonies of the Native American tribes of the Southwest. “I capture the essence of my subjects in a stylized approach, rather than a realistic one,” he explains.

For his life-size bronze piece Shalako II, he shares that it was first sculpted in Portuguese marble at 34 inches high. “This piece is inspired by the Shalako ceremony, which is performed in December, and is one of the most important events in the Zuni religious calendar,” says the artist. “Six men wear wooden frames 10 feet tall covered with dance kilts and topped with masks of the face of Shalako, a deity or divine being. They dance throughout the night, embodying the spirits and visiting specific houses in the Zuni Pueblo…”

Greyshoes (Upton Ethelbah Jr.) (Santa Clara Pueblo/White Mountain Apache), Shalako II, bronze 

Kathleen Wall grew up making “pottery storytellers.” Her work has evolved over time to include sculptural forms seen in bronze works Rain Cloud Gifts I and II, two stunning highlights in the exhibition. “These two ladies are young pueblo women dressed in dance attire and they’re wearing headdresses representing clouds,” says Wall of her subject matter. “They are holding gifts that would be from their parents or aunties or family members—representing community and family.”

She adds, “When I decided to start making bronze sculptures, I had just had my daughter and so my very first bronze sculpture was of a pueblo girl because I wanted my first steps into this new medium to be significant to that time of my life, and having my daughter was such a significant time.”

Kathleen Wall (Jemez Pueblo), Rain Cloud Gifts II, bronze

Find these awe-inspiring works and many others throughout the Santa Fe Botanical Garden through May 30, 2025. 

Through May 30, 2025
Elements of the Earth: Contemporary Native Sculpture 
Santa Fe Botanical Garden, 715 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(505) 471-9103, www.visitsfbg.org

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