INSIDE NMAI


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MANHATTAN MEETS THE MASTERS


BY JOSHUA STEVENS D


ecember is a wonderful time to be in New York City. Though winter is soon set- ting in, the holidays usher in a warm and festive excitement that brings out the best in so


many of the city’s most beloved institutions. The National Museum of the American In- dian’s George Gustav Heye Center is no ex- ception. It’s in this month that the Museum has the privilege of showcasing many of the best Native artists at work today at its annual Art Market, a downtown Manhattan cultural staple for the past 11 years. The breadth of talent chosen to represent the 2015 Native Art Market in New York fea- tures masters of jewelry- and basket-making, expert potters, painters, sculptors and even an up-and-coming fashion icon, all of whom continue the great legacies of


indigenous


peoples. Their art demonstrates not only the traditional and contemporary, but the vibrant future of the cultures they exemplify. Among this year’s artists are:


GLENDORA FRAGUA (Jemez Pueblo)


Since she was 16 years old, Glendora Fragua has continued to perfect her skills as a potter. As a native San Franciscan, she has often used the “City by the Bay” as a backdrop to her ca- reer. In her works, the image of corn, symbolic of Fragua’s clan, is frequently represented. The artist is well-known for her works in the style of sgraffito, a technique in which a highly polished outer coating is applied to the pot- tery and a sharp tool is used to etch designs on it until the lighter natural color of the clay beneath shows through. Fragua loves to take geometric shapes and


innovate with them. In a 2011 interview with the blog Uncle Paulie’s World, the artist said her “mind is always rattling” with new designs


44 AMERICAN INDIAN WINTER 2015 Pottery by Glendora Fragua (Jemez Pueblo).


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