Nathan Begaye (1969–2010) was a Native American ceramics artist of Navajo and Hopi descent.
Background
Nathan Begaye was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1969 to a Navajo father and a Hopi mother.[2] He was raised by his maternal grandparents in the Third Mesa and Tuba City, Arizona.[2] His aunt was noted Hopi potter Otellie Loloma. His upbringing in the Navajo/Hopi communities was steeped in tribal traditions, and he was schooled in the lore, history, religion, symbolism, and customs of the Navajo and Hopi peoples.[2]
Art career
Begaye's interest in pottery began early, at age 10, and he had his first public exhibition only one year later.[3] He learned traditional techniques and pigment recipes from people in his tribal community, both Navajo and Hopi.[2] As they were tribal secrets, he kept these to himself even when he became a teacher later in life.[2] After receiving a SWAIA scholarship,[4] he left home at age 14 to study ceramics at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, NM.[2]
Although his upbringing was very conservative, Begaye used unexpected and unorthodox techniques in his work.[2] Said to utilize a "maverick sense of form, texture, color, and design,"[5] Begaye's work was often personal and autobiographical.[2]
Notable collections
- Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
- Robert Nichols Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- Emerging Clouds, 1998 and Cloud, 2004 and untitled large jar, 2004, SM's-Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch/NL
Selected exhibition history[6]
- Native American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
- November 20, 2010 – December 31, 2016
- Passionate Journey: The Grice Collection of Native American Art
- Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC
- July 18, 2009 – October 17, 2009
- Intersections: Native American Art in a New Light
- Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
- June 24, 2006 – November 27, 2011
- Free Spirit: The New Native American Potter
- Stedelijk Museum’s, Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
- 2006
- Dualities: Nathan Begaye + Les Namingha + Dusty Naranjo
- Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM
- May 12, 2006 – June 25, 2006
- American Indian Art at the Spencer Museum of Art
- Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas,Lawrence, KS
- September 6, 2003 - October 19, 2003
- Indian Market: New Directions in Southwestern Native American Pottery
- Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
- November 16, 2001 – March 17, 2002
References
- ^ "NATHAN BEGAYE, Hopi-Navajo". Robert Nichols Gallery.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Clark, Garth. Free Spirit: The New Native American Potter. Hertogenbosch, Netherlands: Stedelijik Museum's, 2006: 102-123.
- ^ David Revere McFadden, Ellen Napiura Taubman, ed. (2002). Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 1: Contemporary Native American Art from the Southwest. London: Merrell. p. 33.
- ^ Nichols, Robert F. (June–July 1993). "Beautiful...as Possible: The Pottery of Nathan Begaye". FOCUS Magazine.
- ^ Glosband, Merrily (April 2002). "Indian Market: New Directions in Southwestern Native American Pottery" (PDF). Ceramics Monthly. 50 (4).
- ^ "Selected Exhibition History" (PDF). Peabody Essex Museum.
See also
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