Made in Native America ®: Virgil Ortiz

"Canteen from Clay is Fashion is Clay," Virgil Ortiz. All rights reserved.

The indigenous Pueblo cultures of New Mexico have a long tradition in ceramic arts. Pueblo ceramics are known for their bold, intricate patterns that are often abstract interpretations of nature.

Virgil Ortiz, who was born and raised in Cochiti Pueblo, comes from a matrilineal heritage of renowned Pueblo potters that included his mother and grandmother. His ceramic works have been exhibited worldwide.

After a highly successful collaboration with fashion designer Donna Karan, in which Ortiz designed bold textiles that connected the painting on his ceramics to high fashion, he launched his own fashion line, which includes clothing, accessories, and home decor. By transferring the traditional Pueblo patterns to the rich artistic heritage of Native Pueblo artists, and uncovering a fascinating combination of contemporary and traditional art.

written by Karl Cole, curator of images at Davis Publications

SchoolArts, May/June 2014

As a frequent visitor to New Mexico over the last 30 years, I have followed Virgil Ortiz's career since he first began showing his work. Some time ago the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe had an intriguing exhibit, Clay People: Pueblo Indian Figurative Traditions, that traced the design of pottery from Cochiti Pueblo from its first figures to Helen Cordero's storytellers and on to Ortiz' very contemporary figures that suggest tattooing and scarification.

According to the catalog for that exhibition, "In about 1880 potters of Cochiti Pueblo began making large standing figures of circus performers, cowboys, merchants, and other outsiders who, with the coming of the railroad, encroached increasingly on the Pueblo world. Made by the traditional coil-and-scrape method, these expressive and frankly satirical figures were masterpieces of design and execution, standing as tall as 30 inches without support. At the same time potters of Tesuque Pueblo developed their own tradition—smaller, seated figures that became known as Rain Gods. Both figurative styles were marketed aggressively by curio dealers in shops and via mail order, and before their popularity waned in the 1930s, they found their way into collections throughout the United States and Europe."

Clay People, a collaborative exhibition developed by a team of artists and scholars, presented both historic and contemporary views of Pueblo Indian ceramics inspired by the human form. Seldom seen, century-old masterpieces from Cochiti and Tesuque Pueblos revealed the imagination and skill of nineteenth and early twentieth century potters. Installations and videos by contemporary potters Nora Naranjo Morse and Roxanne Swentzell of Santa Clara Pueblo, and Virgil Ortiz of Cochiti Pueblo, 
brought the tradition into the present."

In a discussion with actor Jay Tavare, Virgil explained his artistic intentions: “It’s important to recognize that Pueblo communities are very much alive and have a level of vitality that speaks to generations of strength, persistence, brilliance, and thriving energy. I have something very important to do before I go. I want to preserve my culture and inspire our youth to accomplish whatever it is they dream to be.”

Art teachers, Virgil Ortiz's work as a contemporary Native American artist is powerful and engaging to share with your students to generate meaningful discussions about the transformation and mashup of cultural traditions with the contemporary and to challenge stereotypes of what Native American art is and can be. 

Nancy Walkup, Editor, SchoolArts

"Velocity Pot"  Virgil Ortiz. All rights reserved.

"Cirque Performers" Virgil Ortiz. All rights reserved.

"Survivorship Armada" Virgil Ortiz. All rights reserved.

"Signature Handbag Bald Eagle" Virgil Ortiz. All rights reserved.

"Tahu Moto" Virgil Ortiz. All rights reserved.