Fryes & Friends
Opening Reception: Friday August 4th, 2023, 5pm - 7pm
Located at Sawmill District in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Jacob Thomas Frye is a fourth-generation potter and painter from Tesuque Pueblo. Frye’s passion for art and learning beginning at five years old when he worked alongside his parents, both of whom are artists. He learned traditional Tesque ceramics from mother and other media from his father, an artist from Ft. Collins, Colorado. Frye’s work reflects his inspirations, including Sikyatki-style by the Hopi potter Nampeyo, Matte black-on-polished black by Maria Martinez from San Ildefonso Pueblo, and painting by his great-grandfather Thomas Vigil “Pan Yo Pin,” who used in watercolor.
Kelly Frye’s paintings and sculptures explore themes of healing from trauma. “The soul and spirit of my work springs from my curious nature. This curiosity has led me to many adventures throughout my life. Self-discovery through the arts allows me to express a contemporary voice of my Indigenous world. I find limitless possibilities of expression in a combination of historical and personal narratives. These experiences have allowed me to explore different mediums, culminating in a passion for sculpture with casting metals, welded steel, and clay.
Russell Frye is alumni from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) 2015, currently working at Prarie Dog Glass Studio in Santa Fe, N.M. He believes that, glass is an amazing material. It captivates you, draws you in, and can be used for a boundless number of applications. Light, color, and form come together to create a symphony for the eyes. Its awesome!
Russell grew up south of Gallup, NM, on the Ramah-Navajo reservation. His mother is a traditional potter from Tesuque Pueblo and his father is an artist from Ft. Collins, Colorado. He studied at the University of New Mexico branch in Taos, as well as Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Frye joined the IAIA in fall 2011.
While at IAIA in 2012, he began an internship with the New Mexico Experimental Glass Workshop. It was during this time that he discovered his passion for working with glass as a medium.
Currently residing on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, Kurt Lomawaima been honing his skills as an artist in various mediums for several years. His time attending the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe has encouraged Kurt’s confidence of applying his natural talents to whichever art form embraces his ideas.
Having grown up in the village of Mishungnovi on Second Mesa, Kurt’s art reflects his Hopi upbringing with specks of Western abstract mannerisms. Utilizing acrylic and airbrush techniques, he enjoys a contrast of bright and natural colors to explore the depths of Hopi lifeways and beliefs.
Duhon James is from Water’s Edge clan, born for the Bitter Water Clan, and was born in Ganado, Arizona. He graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in studio art.