Santa Fe Indian Market achieves a balancing act: Rooted in tradition, embracing innovation. Contemporary artists with work on view during King Galleries’ annual Santa Fe Indian Market Show embody this duality.
The gallery’s presentation begins August 14 from 2 to 3 p.m. with a special celebration of Nancy Youngblood and her family. From 3 to 5 p.m., more than 15 premier Native American artists debut new work including Jeff Suina (Cochiti), the great-grandson of Tonita Peña (Qua’-ah) and Estephanita Herrera (Hahnee-yahts), two legendary figures in Native American art.
Jeff Suina (Cochiti Pueblo), Obsidian, native clay
Suina has developed a unique artistic signature of stacked geometric forms owing to a degree in architecture and a professional career in civil engineering, 3D modeling and animation. “Those programs are similar to building pottery except that you start from primitive shapes,” Suina explains. “It is a digital environment based on geometry and trigonometry. You’re starting with polygons and squares.”
Beginning his career committed to tradition, Suina soon came to a creative crossroads. “Are you doing this for the sake of keeping the tradition alive? Part of me wanted to create these interesting shapes for the sake of artistic expression. I felt that was essentially me,” he says. “A curiosity in me started to become interested in producing polygon-based shapes.”
Russell Sanchez (San Ildefonso Pueblo), Bear lidded Jar and Bear, native clay, native fired
The early results weren’t great. “My first geometric pieces were Chinese takeout boxes,” he remembers, chuckling. A breakthrough came when Suina gave up trying to work with clay traditionally sourced from Cochiti. The native clay couldn’t withstand the higher firing temperatures required to successfully construct his stacked forms. So be it. “I felt it was my spiritual responsibility to express myself creatively,” Suina says.
Imitation is not always the sincerest form of flattery. “For me, the basis for being a traditionalist does not mean being stuck in the past or being repetitive with designs,” Russell Sanchez (San Ildefonso) says. “It means moving forward, moving along the path that was created and adding to it.”
Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo), two water jars, native clay
Sanchez will show new work at King Galleries in August. No one would dare accuse him of betraying traditions despite the stunning new directions he’s taken pueblo pottery. Sanchez has been showing at Santa Fe Indian Market for more than 40 years. “A lot less of traditional arts, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but we can’t forget what our roots are and where we came from,” Sanchez says of the changes he’s seen during that time. The potter earned the historic distinction of winning best in show at Indian Market in 2022, the 100th edition of the event, for a polychrome pot with fantastical inlay and incising titled 100 Years in the Making. “I didn’t take credit for it; I gave credit to all the potters who came before me,” Sanchez says.
Some of the potters who came before were Tony Da (San Ildefonso Pueblo) and Da’s mother Anita Da, who had a studio at San Ildefonso. “One day when I was a kid, she saw my work and said, ‘Start bringing it to me,’” Sanchez remembers. He started working with her. Another legendary career launched.
Nancy Youngblood (Santa Clara Pueblo), 32-Rib Melon Bowl, native clay, native fired
Today, Sanchez’ work can often be identified by his iconic bear form. He readily admits that comes from Tony Da. “I took the bear and made it my own,” he says. For the King Galleries’ show, Sanchez returns to gunmetal-colored pieces along with his familiar bear.
The bear is also central to Tammy Garcia’s (Santa Clara Pueblo) art-making lineage going back to her great-great grandmother, Sara Fina Tafoya. Tafoya made water jars with a bear paw print. “Santa Clara Pueblo is right near the base of the mountains, and there’s also a creek that comes from the mountain and flows into the Rio Grande,” Garcia says. “Santa Clara is right along the river and I’m sure that Sera Fina must have known the bears from the mountain, had a relationship being that close to water, seeing that bear paw print.”
Chris Youngblood (Santa Clara Pueblo) and Jennifer Tafoya (Santa Clara Pueblo), Front Range, native clay, native fired
The bear-paw print has become an artistic signature for the family through the generations, Garcia being the fourth generation to show at Indian Market. She and her sister tagged along with their grandmother and great-grandmother to the event as kids.
“We would walk around, look at all the art, collect business cards from our favorite artists,” she remembers.
Les Namingha (Hopi-Tewa/Zuni Pueblo), High Point, native clay, acrylic
Art collectors now prize work from Garcia the way she did those business cards. More precious, of course. Garcia only makes about 10 pieces each year. She has produced new clay pottery and bronzes for the King show. One of the pots recalls her family history.
“There is a woman laying on a rug on her side and she’s holding a pot, and the pot is a water jar,” Garcia explains. The woman is Sara Fina Tafoya. “She’s surrounded by storage jars with the bear-paw print. Then you see the bear on the other side. Either [Sara Fina is] looking out a window or maybe it’s a painting of the bear walking on the hillside, surrounded by the evergreens.”
Sergio Lugo (Santa Clara Pueblo), Midnight Steps, native clay, native fired
Garcia is making artwork from 2026 at home in the 19th century. “I love that I’m coil building my pottery today,” Garcia says. “I’m using the native clay from Santa Clara Pueblo, the same clay she worked with.”
This annual King Galleries show frequently sells out, so collectors are encouraged to attend the opening events. —
King Galleries
August 14, 2026
130 Lincoln Avenue, Suite D, Santa Fe, NM 87501
(480) 481.0187, www.kinggalleries.com
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