David Naranjo

David Naranjo from the Pueblos of Santa Clara, San Juan, and Cochiti reinterprets historic pottery in two dimensions, expressing cultural symbolism through hardline abstraction. Since receiving his BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts, he incorporates elements from Tewa patterns and designs as paintings and scarves, often executed in tactile materials such as silk and micaceous paint. For Naranjo, “Symbols and iconography depicted on pottery and embroidery are not only for ornate decorative purposes, but carry great symbolic significance and serve as visual representations of the landscape, natural world, and, if used properly, for prayer.”