Virgil Ortiz, a potter and fashion designer from Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico, hopes to open doors for fellow Indian artists.
Ortiz's methods are traditional -- he gathers clay for his pottery in the same place his family has used for generations. But his subject matter -- occasionally racy and always challenging -- is contemporary.
"A lot of the Native artists had to do what would sell, with someone telling them, 'Create this many pots and figures and make them look like this,'" Ortiz tells The Arizona Republic. "I'm pushing it in a way that hasn't been done before. It opens contemporary-art opportunities for other generations."
Ortiz, who has worked with fashion icon Donna Karan, will be showing his clothes and jewelry at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona on March 22.
Get the Story:Cochiti artist pushes pueblo tradition (The Arizona Republic 2/24) Relevant Links:
Virgil Ortiz - http://www.virgilortiz.com Related Stories:
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