Nathan Begaye

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Nathan Scott Begaye
Born1969
DiedDecember 2010[1]
NationalityNavajo and Hopi
EducationInstitute of American Indian Art (Santa Fe, New Mexico), New York State College for Ceramics at Alfred University.
Known forceramics
MovementPostmodernist Indian Pottery
External images
image icon Photo of Nathan Begaye
image icon Snow Cloud, 1998
image icon Yeh! Bichai, 1980s
image icon Sorrow, Half Breed, 2005

Nathan Begaye (1969–2010) was a Native American ceramics artist of Navajo and Hopi descent.

Background[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Selected Exhibition History[6][edit]

  • 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[edit]

  1. ^ "NATHAN BEGAYE, Hopi-Navajo". Robert Nichols Gallery.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Nichols, Robert F. (June–July 1993). "Beautiful...as Possible: The Pottery of Nathan Begaye". FOCUS Magazine.
  5. ^ Glosband, Merrily (April 2002). "Indian Market: New Directions in Southwestern Native American Pottery" (PDF). Ceramics Monthly. 50 (4).
  6. ^ "Selected Exhibition History" (PDF). Peabody Essex Museum.

See also[edit]