Karma Henry

Karma Henry (Paiute/Italian/Portuguese) was born in 1972 in Vallejo, California, and is an enrolled tribal member of the Fort Independence Community of Paiute Indians, located in the Owens Valley of Eastern California beneath the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. She was raised in California and maintains deep cultural and ancestral ties to her reservation near Independence, California.

Henry is widely recognized for her Geometric Landscape paintings, which draw inspiration from traditional Paiute basketry patterns and the surrounding desert landscapes of her homeland. Her work bridges abstraction and place, translating cultural memory into contemporary visual language. The titles of her paintings are written in Nüümü (Paiute) and accompanied by English translations, offering viewers insight into the enduring role of language as a vital and living element of Paiute identity.

In addition to her artistic practice, Henry served as Vice-Chairman of the Fort Independence Indian Reservation from 2016 to 2018, reflecting her commitment to leadership and community advocacy. She currently lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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Karma Henry at Gallery Hozho

Karma Henry, Pasükitü’ iona tsawu-nabuni-ti (The baskets from here are beautiful)
$4,500.00
Karma Henry, Tongobi hüdzama’ mia-wei (The clouds are moving slowly)
$4,000.00
Karma Henry, Nüügwa io nana-wei (We will grow here)
$2,700.00
Karma Henry, Kaw̃ aha (Remember)
$1,650.00
Karma Henry, Tabewano, buni-ku nüü mahuwa wishi-ku (Today I watched them weave baskets)
$1,650.00
Karma Henry, Wutui -ti Taawano (Waiting for Spring)
$1,650.00
Karma Henry, Üügwa naweniki-wei suhava awasu (Later, we will gather willow)
$825.00
Karma Henry, Naweniki-wei Kiya (Gathering pinecones)
$450.00
Karma Henry, Taagwa-ii nasümudü a-wan-dü-su tu’ihii (We are all a part of everything)
$450.00
Karma Henry, Wütahabi (Float on the wind)
$450.00
Karma Henry, Tabesu'a-wae (In the sunshine)
$450.00
Karma Henry, Tei poyo tapono-wei pinasu (Our path will meet again)
$900.00
Karma Henry, Ionoho-ku paya (The water was here)
$450.00
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My work encompasses place, perception, pattern and movement. Place represents where I stand, literally, or where I am emotionally.  Perception is what I interpret at that place. Pattern is the forefront of each piece, referencing design elements existing in these places; like Paiute basketry, geography, or skyscapes using colors from that place. The juxtaposition of these elements enhances movement between what is seen and felt, and also what shifts visually across the paintings surface.
I translate my artwork titles to Nüümü (Paiute) allowing the viewer a glimpse of what I am experiencing within.