Staff Reports | Happenings & Events
The ‘Smokescreen,’ new ceramic works by Santa Clara and Dine’ artist Daniel Begay is now open at King Galleries on Main Street in Old Town Scottsdale. Mr. Begay grew up on the Santa Clara pueblo in Northern New Mexico and learned to make pottery from his father Harrison Begay Jr and his mother, Marie John.
The title of the show comes from a step in traditional pottery making, when the artist uses various amounts of dried cow dung to create smoke, which, in turn, effects the colors and patina of the individual work.
“Last year, my show focused on the shapes of the pieces I create because I was working more with square and geometrical designs,” Mr. Begay said in a press release. “But this year, I decided to switch it up color wise, since the last five years a majority of the work I’ve done has been black, which is a staple of Santa Clara pottery.”
Mr. Begay’s newest work for ‘Smokescreen’ are various shades of reds and browns, something he creates with the smoke during the pottery-making process.
“These finishes you don’t see that often,” Mr. Begay said. “Especially the brown, you don’t see that too much at all, so we wanted to try and focus on that. Interestingly enough, with the smoke screen process, red is the complete absence of smoke, so these pieces haven’t been exposed at all.”
The exhibition will include water jars, storage jars and other traditional vessels from the Santa Clara pottery tradition.
“I enjoy manipulating the exposure of smoke to get the different finishes,” Mr. Begay said. “It’s all about timing and how much you leave each piece in the smoke. The smokescreen, then, is an important part in the process.”
For gallery owner Charles King, Mr. Begay represents part of the new wave of pueblo potters who are helping to define the contemporary direction the medium has been moving in over time.
“Daniel Begay (Santa Clara/Navajo) is a young voice in Native American Art,” says King. “His pottery is made from native clay, carved, stone polished and traditionally fired. His most recent work combines larger forms with carved imagery and fired a distinctive red coloration. Daniel’s creative pottery speaks to an exciting future of innovation within cultural traditions.”
King Galleries has focused on contemporary and historic pueblo pottery for over 25 years. They have two locations: one on Main Street in Old Town Scottsdale and the other just off the historic plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Charles King, owner of the gallery, is an expert in the field and has written many books on the subject.
