Show Preview | Indian Market Group Show

Manitou Galleries, Santa Fe, NM
August 19-30

Nocona Burgess, Quanah Parker, War Bonnet, acrylic, 24 x 48.

An estimated 150,000 people typically come to Santa Fe Indian Market each year, though the cancellation of last year’s event may make 2021 a record-breaker. While Native artists and artisans are still setting up their Indian Market booths around the city’s downtown Plaza, Manitou Galleries’ Palace Avenue location—just steps away—hosts a major event of its own. A two-night opening is planned for Thursday and Friday, August 19-20, to celebrate Culture, Connection & Change, a show devoted to the latest works from five Indian artists on the gallery’s roster: Nocona Burgess (Comanche), Upton “Greyshoes” Ethelbah (Santa Clara Pueblo and White Mountain Apache), Ed Natiya (Diné), George Rivera (Pojoaque Pueblo), and William Rogers (Diné). Each artist has seven to 10 works on display, and all five of them attend the receptions, while guests enjoy refreshments and live mariachi music.

“All of these artists are carrying on the traditions of their cultures and connecting to them in unique ways,” says the gallery’s associate director, Cyndi Hall, explaining the show’s title. “They’re also making their art in a really modern way, which is where the ‘change’ comes in.” Rivera, for example, focuses mostly on the traditional dancers of his pueblo, while adding a level of lifelike detail that’s very much of today. “When he installs his pieces, he sings a Native prayer,” Hall notes. Greyshoes studied with Rivera and others after retiring as residential director of the Santa Fe Indian School. He’s built an avid following for his stylized figures energized by brightly colored patinas. Rogers’ works, fashioned from stainless steel, ceramic, and other media, add a striking geometric twist to traditional tribal forms. Bronzes by Natiya, in contrast, hew to faithful yet contemporary realism in the chiefs, warriors, and maidens they portray.

: Ed Natiya, Red Cloud, Broken Promises, bronze, 96 x 48.

: Greyshoes, Apache Mountain Spirit, bronze, 34 x 20 x 12.

: Ed Natiya, Manuelito, Man of the Four Corners, bronze, 25 x 18 x 9.

The sole painter in the show, Burgess is the great-great-grandson of Quanah Parker, the 19th-century Comanche warrior and chief who forged a path for his people into American society. That heritage has led Burgess to paint large-scale, pop art-influenced images of his ancestor and other Indian leaders. So striking is his art that the gallery chose two of his recent works depicting Parker—QUANAH PARKER, EAGLE FEATHER and QUANAH PARKER, WAR BONNET—to reproduce on highway billboards advertising the show. “The excitement is there for this exhibition and for Indian Market,” says Burgess. “We’re getting back.”

Hall enthusiastically agrees, noting that the show makes a perfect complement to the stalls and shoppers thronging the streets outside the gallery during Indian Market. (During the weekend, Manitou also shows museum-quality pieces from several jewelers it represents.) “Visitors will be able to see an extensive body of work from these artists, and to understand their stories,” Hall says. “One of the benefits of coming into the gallery is that you can take the time to learn about the artists and the history of each piece. Right now, it’s especially meaningful to come out and support indigenous artists.” —Norman Kolpas