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Karita Coffey

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Karita Coffey
Tsat-Tah Mo-oh Kahn[1]
NationalityComanche Nation
EducationInstitute of American Indian Arts
Alma materUniversity of Oklahoma

Karita Coffey (born 1947) is a Comanche ceramist, noted especially for producing ceramic versions of cultural items from her tribe, in addition to ceramic vessels.[2] She also works in lost-wax cast metals

Background and education

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Karita Coffey's Comanche name is Tsat-Tah Mo-oh Kahn, which translates to "Good-Handed."[1] Coffey lived in Lawton, Oklahoma, before beginning her artistic training at the Institute of American Indian Arts[3] when it was still a high school. She earned her bachelor's of fine arts and graduate degree in Education from the University of Oklahoma.[4]

Career

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Coffey completed teacher certification in art and served as artist-in-residence for the Oklahoma City public school system and taught pottery in Native American education programs in Oklahoma.[5] Coffey later taught at IAIA[2] for 25 years before retiring in 2015 to work on her sculpture.[3]

Coffey's work is informed by aspects of African art and the art of the Australian Aborigines as well as by her own heritage.[6]

Exhibitions

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Public collections

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Her work is represented in the collection of the National Museum of the American Indian, which holds four works by Coffey. The works were created between 1970–71 and were initially purchased by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, then transferred to the National Museum of the American Indian in 1985.[10][11] Coffey's work is also in collections of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the Millicent Rogers Museum, the Heard Museum, and the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Karita Coffey (Comanche) '65". Institute of American Indian Arts. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b Charlotte Streifer Rubinstein (1990). American women sculptors: a history of women working in three dimensions. G.K. Hall. ISBN 978-0-8161-8732-4.
  3. ^ a b "'Good Handed' - Native Peoples - September-October 2015 - Native Peoples". www.nativepeoples.com. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Karita Coffey".
  5. ^ a b Bisgyer-Lauer, M (editor), National American Indian Women's Art Show: NAIWAS, August 3-September 30, 1980, Via Gambaro Gallery,1980
  6. ^ Debi Berrow (1987). Florilegia: A Retrospective of Calyx, a Journal of Art and Literature by Women, 1976-1986. Calyx Books. pp. 228–. ISBN 978-0-934971-06-5.
  7. ^ Gonyea, Ray, et al. Indian Artists, 1977 : An Exhibition, June 12 - September 10, 1977, via Gambaro Gallery. Via Gambaro Gallery, 1977.
  8. ^ "Gardiner Gallery of Art - Oklahoma State University". 22 March 2021.
  9. ^ Women of sweetgrass, cedar and sage : contemporary art by Native American women. Harmony Hammond, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Gallery of the American Indian Community House. New York, N.Y.: Gallery of the American Indian Community House. 1985. ISBN 0-934305-00-5. OCLC 13516756.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. ^ "National Museum of the American Indian : Item Detail". nmai.si.edu. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Record Wall hanging | Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution". collections.si.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-23.