A-list showcase: 'Driving the Market' features works by a who's who of Indigenous artists

A brightly decorated 1974 Triumph TR6 convertible, complete with beadwork, is roaring into Santa Fe’s Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.

The Native-designed car is just one of about 50 award-winning objects in “Driving the Market: Award Winning Native Contemporary Art” in the museum’s new JoAnn and Bob Balzer Native Market and Contemporary Art Gallery.

Workers carved out the new space from the newly renovated “Here, Now and Always” permanent exhibition space.

A-list showcase: 'Driving the Market' features works by a who's who of Indigenous artists

“The idea is to give a dedicated space to focus on market artists and their contemporary work,” said Elisa Phelps, MIAC’s head of curatorial affairs.

The opening exhibition features works by a who’s who of A-list Indigenous artists, including Kathleen Wall (Jemez Pueblo), Tony Abeyta (Diné), Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Diego Romero (Cochiti Pueblo), Connie Tsosie Gaussoin (Picuris Pueblo and Diné) and Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo).

The late owners of Santa Fe’s La Fonda, Sam and Ethel Ballen, won the British-built roadster with a $100 raffle ticket purchased at the Santa Fe Children’s Museum in 2000. They then donated the car to the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts and the Institute of American Indian Arts for their annual auction supporting scholarships for students across all disciplines.

The famed Hopi-Tewa artist Dan Namingha designed and painted the outside, while award-winning beadwork artist Teri Greeves (Kiowa) beaded the center of the steering wheel with a galloping horse and rider. Marcus Amerman (Choctaw) beaded the gear shift. Multiple award-winning Santa Clara Pueblo sculptor Upton Ethelbah carved the hood ornament. Connie Tsosie, David and Wayne Nez Gaussoin (Picuris Pueblo/Diné) created the key dazzler.

The show highlights artists from prestigious Native art markets, including the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Autry Museum in Los Angeles, the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis and the Heard Museum in Phoenix.

Photographer Cara Romero’s portrait of Kaa Folwell (Santa Clara Pueblo) shows the potter bathed in clay. The markings came from ancestral designs at Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park.

“She’s representing the Clay Lady, who is a figure from Tewa oral history,” Phelps said. “In the Santa Clara creation story, everyone is made from clay.”

Diego Romero’s “Chongo, the Last Boy on Earth” 2019 pot showcases the artist’s Native comic book figure. The climate change-themed piece shows Chongo on a raft as waters flood Museum Hill (where MIAC is located). Romero’s work takes on serious subjects, often with a touch of humor.

Zoë Urness (Tlingit/Cherokee) captured an image of the 2016 Standing Rock protest after she spotted a protester draped in a traditional Tlingit blanket.

“That’s a photo that’s been shared very widely because it’s so powerful,” Phelps said. “She felt called to Standing Rock. She took the photo with the guy in the front with the gas mask; she still doesn’t know who that was.”

The image won Best in Class at the 2017 Heard Indian Fair and Market, Phelps added.

The show also features a continuous loop of video by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Kaela Waldstein. Waldestein interviewed Native artists about their work and the importance of art markets.