Ramona Sakiestewa

Celebrated for her tapestries and works on paper, Ramona Sakiestewa is a central figure among contemporary Native American artists. Born of Hopi ancestry and raised in the American Southwest, she educated herself in the art of weaving by evolving and adapting ancient Pueblo techniques.

Sakiestewa is renowned for her tapestries and works on paper – clever compounds of postmodern critical method, highly individuated abstract language, and her culture’s ritual imagery. Her watercolors frequently serve as starting points for her highly regarded architectural and site work.

Able to synthesize numerous artistic traditions and media, Sakiestewa is widely sought after for specific commissions. She has designed two limited edition series of commercially woven blankets. The first series was inspired by historic trails of the Southwest; the second by the ancient cultures that inhabited National Monuments in New Mexico and Arizona. Exhibiting a profound understanding of other modern and contemporary artists, her studio has also woven their designs. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation commissioned Sakiestewa to weave thirteen tapestries from the architect’s drawings. Working with Gloria Frankenthaler Ross, her studio also wove several tapestries for the painter Kenneth Noland.

She has served as a design consultant working to build the National Mall facility of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Moreover, she mentored the development team for the master planning of “Our Universes,” one of three major permanent gallery themes for that institution. In addition to the National Museum of the American Indian, Ramona’s public art and design projects include the Tempe Center for the Performing Arts, Tempe, AZ; the America West Heritage Center, Wellsville, UT; the Chickasaw Cultural Center, Sulphur, OK; and Marriott Hotels in Washington, DC and Sacramento, CA.

Sakiestewa’s contribution to the arts extends beyond the objects of her making. As a former chair of the New Mexico Arts Commission, the first Native American director of the Southwestern Association on Indian Affairs (SWAIA), and a founding member and former director of Atlatl (a national Native Arts organization headquartered in Phoenix, AZ), she continues to exercise a significant influence on state and federal arts policy.

She is also the recipient of numerous awards for her artwork including the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Governor’s Outstanding New Mexico Woman’s Award, recent induction into New Mexico Women’s Hall of Fame, and several first place wins in Contemporary Weaving at Santa Fe Indian Market.

Ramona Sakiestewa has exhibited extensively in numerous solo exhibitions and group shows. Her work is held in the collections of many important arts venues including: The National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; The Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM; The Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ; The St. Louis Museum of Art, St. Louis, MO; and, The Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO.

BIO/CV

b. Albuquerque, NM

Education

1968

School of Visual Arts, New York NY

Select Commissions

Kenneth Noland Tapestry Series; a series of Noland designs commissioned by Gloria F. Ross Tapestries
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation; a series of thirteen tapestries from the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright
Bernice Steinbaum Gallery (New York, NY); a tapestry of painter Paul Brach’s work
Neutrogena Corporation, Los Angeles, CA; a series of tapestries for corporate offices worldwide
Mobil Corporation, Dallas, TX
Sundance, Provo, UT; series of tapestries
Avalon Trust, Santa Fe, NM; series of tapestries
Denver Art Museum, Denver CO

Select Projects

1987 – 1992

Smithsonian Institution Mail Order Catalog: Several scarves, shawl, tie, and fabric for apparel
1990 – Present

Dewey Trading Co.: Design of the “Southwest Trails Series,” six limited edition blankets manufactured by Pendleton Woolen Mills, Portland, OR. Currently issued in open editions
1993 – 2004

Master planning, content & design consultant, “The Native Universe” permanent exhibition
1993 – 2004

National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC: Design consultant for the National Mall Museum building; with architects GBQC, Philadelphia; Polshek &Associates, New York; Smith Group, Washington, DC; landscape architect EDAW, Washington,DC
1994 – 98

Sakiestewa Textiles, LLC.: Design and issue of the “Ancient Blanket Series,” six limited edition blankets under private label, Santa Fe, NM
1997 – 98

Lode Star Project: Design consultant to the architect for “Enchanted Skies Park,” observatory and astronomy center sponsored by the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
1998

Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta: Chicahuac Chac theme art piece. Limited edition lithograph printed at Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque, NM; reproduced as poster, program cover, wine label, and invitations
2001 – 02

Trail of Painted Ponies, New Mexico: One of several artists painting fiberglass horses for a statewide public art project, Santa Fe, NM
2002

American West Heritage Center, Wellsville, Utah: Member of the core master planning team for a new museum and cultural center for the Northwest Band of Shoshone Indians. With Hilferty & Associates, Interpretive Planners, Athens, OH and Jensen Haslem, Architects, Wellsville,UT
2002 – 04

Chickasaw Cultural Center, Sulphur, Oklahoma: Member of the core master planning team for a new cultural center for the Chickasaw Nation. With Andrew Merriell & Associates, Interpretive Planning& Design, Santa Fe, NM and Overland Partners, Architects, San Antonio, TX
2002 – 05

Marriott Residence Inn, Washington, DC: Design consultant to developer (Donohoe Corporation) and interior designer (BBGM) for design themes and artwork for planned business hotel
2002 – 07

Tempe Center for the Performing Arts, Tempe, AZ: Public Art project; one of three artists designing artwork integrated with the architectural fabric of the building. With Barton Myers, Architect, Los Angeles, CA
2005 – 07

National Indian Monument and Institute, Tulsa, Oklahoma: Member of the core master planning team for a new cultural center. With Andrew Merriell & Associates, Interpretive Planning & Design, Santa Fe, NM and Johnson, Smitthipong and Rosamond Architects, Tucson, AZ.
Marriott Residence Inn, Sacramento, CA: Design consultant to developer (Christopher Corporation, Three Fires, and Marriott) and interior designer (Johnson Braund Design Group) for design themes and artwork for planned business hotel.
2006 – 07

Gila River Health Care Corporation: Design and cultural values consultant to Johnson, Smitthipong and Rosamond Architects for new hospital, Tucson, AZ
2008 – 11

Kurdistan Regional Government, Statistics Office, Erbil, Iraq: Design cultural theming, consultant to Bayberry International, Easton, MD
2011 – 12

Advisor: Shapeshifting, Transformations in Native American Art, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA

Select Solo Exhibitions

1989

Ramona Sakiestewa/Patterned Dreams, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, NM
1991

Ramona Sakiestewa/Frank Lloyd Wright, Themes and Variations, The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
1993

Between the Four Sacred Mountains, Museum of the Southwest, Pasadena, CA
1995

Patterns of the Southwest: Tapestries by Ramona Sakiestewa, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
1997

Ramona Sakiestewa/Recent Acquisitions, Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ
2002

Cultural Colors:Fiber Art & Drawings, Heard Museum North, Carefree, AZ
2006

Ramona Sakiestewa, Nicole Fiacco Gallery, Hudson, NY
2008

Vortex of Color, Eight Modern, Santa Fe, NM
2014

Tangram Butterfly and Other Shapes, TAI Modern, Santa Fe, NM

Select Group Exhibitions

1991

Contemporary Concepts, Los Colores Museum, Albuquerque, NM
1992

Colorado University Art Gallery, Boulder, CO
1992-present

American Encounters 1992, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
1994

Homeland Use and Desire, Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA
1994-98

Native America: Reflecting Contemporary Realities, American Indian Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, CA; traveling exhibition
1995

Celebrating Helen Heninger, Curator for Gump’s Contemporary Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1996-97

Native American Traditions/Contemporary Responses, Society for Contemporary Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA
1997-98

Colors, Contrasts, Cultures, Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, CT
O’Keeffe’s New Mexico, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM
Native Abstractions: Modern Forms, Ancient Ideas, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, NM
2002

Changing Hands, American Craft Museum, New York, NY
2004

NDN Art, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM
2006

Breaking the Mold, opening exhibition, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
2007

East Meets West: Ramona Sakiestewa/ G. Peter Jemison, Eight Modern, Santa Fe, NM
Nebula: The Reflection Series, LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2009

Redefining the Canvas: Edda Renouf, Ramona Sakiestewa, and Marie Watt, Eight Modern, Santa Fe, NM
2012

Shapeshifting: Transformations in Native American Art, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
2013

Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico: Architecture, Katsinam and the Land, Denver Art Museum, Denver,CO and Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, NM
Native Vanguard: Contemporary Masters, Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
2015

Contemporary International Tapestry, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clifton, NJ

Select Collections

Friends of Art and Preservation in Embassies, Washington, DC (work placed in American Embassy in Uganda)
The Mint Museum of Craft & Design, Charlotte, NC
The Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
The Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ
The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
The Clay Center, Charleston, WV
Museum of Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM
The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, NM
St. Louis Museum of Art, St. Louis, MO
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
The Kennedy Museum of American Art, Athens, OH
Mobil Corporations, Dallas, TX
Neutrogena Collection, Los Angeles, CA
Sundance Collection, Provo, UT
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

ARTIST STATEMENT

I was born in the American Southwest. At an early age, I knew I would be an artist. Having had a somewhat harried childhood, I did art making as a way to create order out of uncertainty.

My professional art career began in tapestry weaving. That art form allowed for the blending of shapes and layering of colors. Early work was graphic in design. That eventually evolved into abstract and painterly weavings.

Off and on for 20 years, I did printmaking as well. Five years ago, I began to focus on what I call “constructions” Making them involves deconstructing the earlier prints and then painting and drawing on additional pieces of fabrics and papers. I can then manipulate the complex palette of images, patterns, and surfaces. With the diversity of materials, one can continue to blend shapes and layer color but in dimensional constructions.

Themes that continue to thread through my artwork are puzzle pieces, astronomical configurations, and divination. Recently, I have reached back to my childhood to retrieve an early design vocabulary lexicon. These can be seen in new work called “and Other Shapes.”