Fryes and Friends
In New Mexico, artistic achievement often runs in families — the Martinezes from San Ildefonso, the Lewises from Acoma, and the Naranjos from Santa Clara. The Frye family from Tesuque Pueblo carries on this tradition. For generations, the family has pursued the arts in painting and ceramics. Siblings Kelly, Jacob, and Russell continue their family’s artistic heritage. Kelly is known for her brightly colored canvases and for her metal work. Jacob’s ceramics are based on examples he has studied from various museums, recreating older shapes and designs. Russell’s glass pieces integrate designs and patterns found in historic ceramics. Seen together in the exhibition Fryes and Friends, their work suggests the importance of family as a means to encourage artistic excellence.
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
As an artist, my creative exploration has led me through various mediums, including painting, printmaking, and sculpture. However, it is in the mesmerizing world of glass that I have found my true artistic passion. Working with glass is an extraordinary and demanding art form that captivates me with its ability to transform light into a ghostly disco of colors and shapes.
My journey into the realm of glass began in 2012 when I had the privilege of meeting Patrick Morrissey, the esteemed owner of Prarie Dog Glass studio in Santa Fe, NM. Under his guidance and mentorship, I was introduced to the intricate techniques and possibilities of this uncommon
medium. Glass allows me to approach my artistic process much like I would when creating a collage or painting. However, the unique quality of glass enables me to add another dimension to my work: the ability to harness light. This fascinating interplay between form, color, and light grants my creations a dynamic and ever-changing meaning, alluring viewers from every angle.
My work revolves around themes of nature’s captivating beauty, life’s delicate fragility, and the enduring influence of the land and its people on shaping who we are. I extend an invitation to my audience, encouraging them to immerse themselves in front of the reflective glass surfaces, where they can witness the mesmerizing interplay of colors and textures, creating a truly contemplative experience.
Kurt Lomawaima
My work explores the relationship between a Hopi upbringing and living in a Westernized world. With diverse influences coming from renowned Hopi and European artists, new variations are created to show both the complexities and simplicities of living in two different worlds.
Growing up I have been fascinated by the mythical and realism of Hopi ideology. It created an endless oscillation of the mind. What starts out as magic ends up embracing the understanding that Hopi is art in itself.
As abstract forms shift to convey a realistic way of life, the viewer is left with an inspired insight into the world of Hopi.
Duhon James
This visual I have about how the sun, land, and clouds create colors as they engage life and for as topping moment, you realize how their colors play. Creating these linoleum block prints, is away of me to create a life form and evolving cycles with water, stars, corn, and mountains. Also, having a textile expression of it representing our elders, who have created different rugs throughout their lives. Keeping it simple does play a role in my community of the Ganado Red rug and interrupting and approaching it differently with stars, a mountain, and a hogan. My artworks visualize the Navajo lifestyle and include a rotating cast of stars, corn, water, textile, Hogan, and universe. I would like to acknowledge every elder who has brought everyone of us in to this world. They are still teaching us, of what it means to be here, and to understand what they are passing onto us.
