Quenching a thirst: Cara Romero Gallery exhibit celebrates the art of water

When photographer Cara Romero (Chemehuevi) first opened the only female Indigenous-owned gallery in Santa Fe in 2022, she intended to show only her own work.

But the success of the gallery at 333 Montezuma Ave. inspired her to expand her single artist stable to other Native creators she admired.

The exhibition “Slow Water” features more than 20 works by Indigenous artists Leah Mata Fragua, Porfirio Gutierrez, Ian Kuali’i, Lehuauakea, Erica Lord, Diego Romero and Cara Romero. The multidisciplinary works feature handmade kapa (barkcloth), textiles, jewelry, photography, ceramics, cut paper and more. The show runs through Oct. 2.

Quenching a thirst: Cara Romero Gallery exhibit celebrates the art of water

“These are artists that I deeply admire,” Romero said. “We’re all related to the Pacific — Alaska, California and Hawaii. The images I make are all underwater.

“There’s an art to the use of water in each of our projects,” she continued. “It’s this idea of slowing down water for its effects on each medium. To me, it was a beautiful thought. We use water in this perfect, scientific way. The pieces in the show all relate to water.”

Native Hawaiian artist Lehuauakea creates kapa or traditional barkcloth with natural pigments. Her name means rain falling on the lehua flowers, a blossom born of legend. She creates textiles from the bark of paper mulberry trees. She soaks, beats and ferments the bark for weeks. From there, she breathes life into patterns and traditions practiced for generations, using earth pigments as her palette.

Erica Lord (Alaska Native) is an interdisciplinary artist who grew up between Alaska and upper Michigan. She uses a variety of mediums to address her mixed identity, including photography and tattoo art. She teaches at Santa Fe’s Institute of American Indian Arts.

Ian Kuali‘i is an interdisciplinary artist of Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) and Mescalero Apache decent. He uses a single sheet of paper and an X-Acto knife to cut portraits and compositions. His “Portrait of Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku” celebrates the inventor of Hawaiian surfboarding.

“They’re hand-cut paper portraits,” Romero said. “That piece is representative of the pieces in the show.”

Leah Mata Fragua is an artist, educator and member of the Northern Chumash tribe located on the central California coast.

“She is a local artist who married into Jemez Pueblo,” Romero said. “She’s one of the most celebrated designers of Native American regalia. A lot of my photographs feature collaborative work with her. She makes handmade paper baskets and California tribal trade route maps.”

Romero met Mexican weaver Porfirio Gutierrez at the International Folk Art Market. Now based in California, he grew up immersed in color and surrounded by the wildness of Oaxaca, Mexico’s mountains and in the knowledge of plants for healing and color. He uses hand-dyed wool with earth pigments to create contemporary abstractions.

“I deeply admire their textile work,” Cara Romero said. “They do a lot of cultural preservation. I love to blur the lines between traditional and contemporary.”

Romero worked in a shared studio space for seven years before going out on her own.

“I was working with some galleries, but selling a lot of my own work,” she said.

Her space combines a gallery with a print studio.“I show predominately my own work,” she said. “It’s been so successful that I’m sharing and doing a group show.”