For almost an entire week, Blue Rain Gallery hosts its Annual Celebration of Native American Art featuring lectures, live demonstrations and an array of fresh artwork by some of the best Native American artists working today. Exciting art exhibitions are expected, including collections of glass, pottery, kachina and contemporary, two-dimensional paintings with a flair for the traditional.
Jody Naranjo (Santa Clara Pueblo), Buffalo Pot, hand-coiled sgraffito, carved natural clay with acrylic paint, 3¾ x 8 in.
“Blue Rain Gallery has been at the forefront of contemporary Native American art for over 30 years, championing artists who honor cultural heritage while fearlessly reshaping its boundaries,” says gallery director Leah Garcia. “With deep respect for ancestral traditions and an uncompromising commitment to innovation, these artists are reimagining what Native art can be across glass, pottery, painting and beyond. This year’s celebration brings focus to those working at the intersection of tradition and experimentation, where storytelling is as bold as the medium itself.”
Thomas "Breeze" Marcus (Tohono O’odham), Vainom, acrylic and oil on canvas, 36 x 24 in.
Among the many categories in the show, there’s a significant focus on glass art, a movement the gallery has helped shape from its inception. “Through visionary partnerships with artists like Preston Singletary, Dan Friday, Raven Skyriver and Spooner Marcus, the gallery has elevated glass as a vessel for cultural expression, where molten form becomes memory and each sculpture is imbued with layers of meaning,” Garcia adds.
Chris Pappan (Osage/Kaw/Cheyenne River Sioux), Sovereign II, mixed media on real estate tax ledger, 28 x 16½ in.
While glass works are highlighted in abundance, other artworks of importance include pottery, like Jody Naranjo’s (Santa Clara Pueblo) Buffalo Pot—a mix of traditional techniques and contemporary styles that combine layered design and color, a favorite combination for the artist. “The Buffalo Pot is flat on top so you can see the design from above,” the artist shares. “The buffalo are carved in a fun and youthful style, and the lines and dots give it a ‘merry-go-round’ effect. The stone was carved by Veronica Poblano, a fantastic jeweler from Zuni Pueblo and a dear friend. The bottom has lots of geometric designs as well.”
Crossing into two-dimensional work, show attendees will find the intricate, woven patterns and storytelling of Thomas “Breeze” Marcus (Tohono O’odham). His show piece Vainom—a colorful, geometric painting— is named after what the O’odham call the popular mountain, Piestewa Peak, in Phoenix. “Vainom do’ag or Shiny/Sharp Mountain holds a deep history with the O’odham going back over a millennium,” Marcus notes. “The work by the same name is an homage to the original name that is still used by my communities and is special to us and our ancestry in the valley.”
Spooner Marcus (Ohkay Owingeh), Glass Vessels, blown glass.
Ugly Pie (Taos Pueblo), The Hot Stop, acrylic on clay board, oxidized copper leaf, 16 x 20 in.
Artist Chris Pappan (Osage/Kaw/Cheyenne River Sioux) presents his surrealist, graphite ledger art in Sovereign II. “The Sovereign series was based on the work of Apache artist Douglas Miles’ expression of You’re Skating on Native Land,” explains Pappan. “Skateboarding has become an important part of contemporary Native culture, and I wanted to incorporate imagery into ledger art expressing that importance. Skateboarding allows for artistic expression, a sense of freedom or liberation, pain, community, health and wellbeing. A contemporary way to count coup and claim territory. In Sovereign II, the skateboarding figure is imbued with the spirit of the buffalo, bringing power and wisdom. He is skating over a fractured history (Custer), and the sense of movement is emphasized through actual fringe incorporated into the paper. Past, present and future are all represented in this work to inspire, educate and thwart forced colonial paradigms within Native communities.”
Visit Blue Rain Gallery’s Santa Fe, New Mexico, location to view the full spectrum of the show, from August 12 through 17. Head to the gallery website for a schedule of events that includes glass blowing and painting demonstrations, along with podcast panel discussions and acoustic performances. —
Blue Rain Gallery
August 12-17, 2025
544 S. Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 954-9902, www.blueraingallery.com
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