Crocker Art Museum
September 22, 2019 — January 05, 2020
American Indians of the Southwest began making functional pottery more than 2,000 years ago. Crafting these vessels required skills that have passed down through generations and continues even today. Geographic variations in clay and regional preferences for certain designs and shapes helped distinguish permanent villages and pueblos. In the late 19th century, the railroad brought visitors to the Southwest. Potters began to sell their wares, establishing a market for pottery made as art.
Drawing inspiration from their ancestors and traditions, many makers began to sign their work, and individual potters became known and their works collected. Featuring more than 200 pieces by premier potters, this exhibition focuses on legendary matriarchs such as Nampeyo, Maria Martinez, and Margaret Tafoya, as well as many of their adventuresome descendants, whose art has become increasingly elaborate, detailed, personal, and political over time.
