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 Ross Tapestries, New York, NY
- Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Taliesin West, AZ: 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: A series of tapestries
- Avalon Trust, Santa Fe, NM: a series of tapestries
- Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO

Select Projects

2013-
Line of homeware products and accessories.
2017-18
American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, Oklahoma City, OK.
Design and cultural values consultant to Andrew Merriell & Associates/
Johnson Fain architects.
2008-11
Kurdistan Regional Government Statistics Office, Erbil, Iraq: Designed cultural theming, consultant to Bayberry International, Easton, MD. Designed architectural elements for the building based on Kurdish art and culture.
2006-07
Gila River Health Care Corporation, Tucson, Arizona: Designed flooring and other architectural elements for the new hospital building based on tribal cultural values. Johnson, Smitthipong and Rosamond Architects, Tucson, AZ.
2005–07
National Indian Monument and Institute, Tulsa, Oklahoma: Designed outdoor ceremonial installations based on cultural histories and tribal practices with the planning team of Andrew Merriell & Associates, Interpretive Planning & Design, Santa Fe, NM, and Johnson, Smitthipong and Rosamond Architects, Tucson, AZ.
2005–07
Marriott Residence Inn, Sacramento, CA: Design consultant to developer (Christopher Corporation, Three Fires, and Marriott Hotels) and interior designer (Johnson Braund Design Group) for design themes and artwork for planned business hotel.
2002–07
Tempe Center for the Performing Arts, Tempe, Arizona: Public Art project; one of three artists designing artwork integrated with the building. Designed 7800 sq.ft. of custom carpet for the center. Barton Myers, Architect, Los Angeles, CA.
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
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.
1994–98
Sakiestewa Textiles, Ltd: Designed and issued the “Ancient Blanket Series,” six limited edition blankets (under private label with Scalamandre, NY) Santa Fe, NM.
1993–04
National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC: Member of the Architectural Design Team for the National Mall Museum building with architects GBQC, Philadelphia, PA; Polshek & Associates, NY; SmithGroup, Washington, DC; Jones and Jones, Seattle, WA; landscape architect EDAW, Washington, DC
Created for the master plan a design vocabulary representing 500 tribes for use by the Architectural Design Team, exhibit design team and interior designers. Designed the “Entry Plaza Birthdate,” Potomac Solstice and Equinox markers, “Copper Screen Wall,” elevator cabs, Ceremonial Front Doors and pulls, theater curtain and other architectural elements.
1990–96
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.
1987-92
Smithsonian Institution Mail Order Catalog: Several scarves, shawl, tie, and apparel fabric.

Select Solo Exhibitions

2017
Light Echoes, Tai Modern, Santa Fe, NM
2016
Ramona Sakiestewa: Highlighting Print Work–Tangram Butterflies and Katsinas,
Del Norte Credit Union, Santa Fe, NM
2014
Tangram Butterfly and Other Shapes, Tai Modern, Santa Fe, NM
2008
Vortex of Color, 8 Modern, Santa Fe, NM
2006
Nicole Fiacco Gallery, Hudson, NY
2002
Cultural Colors:Fiber Art & Drawings, Heard Museum North, Carefree, AZ
1997
Ramona Sakiestewa/Recent Acquisitions, Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ
1995
Patterns of the Southwest, Tapestries by Ramona Sakiestewa, The Perspective Series, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
1993
Between the Four Sacred Mountains: Contemporary Weavings of Ramona Sakiestewa, Museum of the Southwest, Pasadena, CA
1991
Ramona Sakiestewa/Frank Lloyd Wright, Themes and Variations,
The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ. Tapestries by Ramona Sakiestewa Ltd.,
for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Taliesin West, AZ
1989
Ramona Sakiestewa/Patterned Dreams, Wheelwright Museum of the
American Indian, Santa Fe, NM

Select Group Exhibitions

2019
The Western Sublime: Majestic Landscapes of the American West, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2019-20
Hearts of our People,: Native Women Artists, Minneapolis Museum of Art; Frist Museum, Nashville, TN; Renwick Museum, Washington DC; Philbrook Museum, Tulsa, OK
2018-19
Seeing America: Native Artists of North America, Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
2017
Horizons: People & Place in New Mexico in 20th Century Art, New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM
Native American Gallery, Blanton Museum, Austin, TX
2016
Common Ground: Art in New Mexico, Albuquerque Museum Permanent Collection Installation, Albuquerque, NM
Fiber Gallery, Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC
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
Accompanying catalogue: Barbara Buhler Lynes and Carolyn Kastner, “Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico – Architecture, Katsinam and the Land.” Museum of New Mexico Press, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, NM. Essay contribution: Ramona Sakiestewa, Katsinam: Memories and Reflections,” p.127-129, 2013
2012
Shapeshifting-Transformations in Native American Art, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
Accompanying catalogue: Karen Kramer Russell, “Shapeshifting – Transformations in Native American Art,” Yale University Press, p. 36, 58-59, 2012
2007
East Meets West, 8 Modern, Santa Fe, NM
Nebula: The Reflection Series, LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM 2006
Breaking the Mold, opening exhibition, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
2004
NDN Art, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM
Accompanying catalogue: Suzanne Deats and Charlene Touchette, “NDN ART, Contemporary Native American Art,” Fresco Fine Art Publications, LLC, Albuquerque, NM, p. 80-85, 2004
2002
Changing Hands, American Craft Museum, New York, NY
Accompanying catalogue: David Revere McFadden, Ellen Napiura Taubman, and Holly Hotchner, “Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, Contemporary Native American Art from the Southwest,“ Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. p. 94, 2002
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
1996–97
Native American Traditions/Contemporary Responses, Society for Contemporary Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA
1995
Celebrating Helen Heninger, Curator for Gump’s Contemporary Art Gallery, Gump’s Department Store, San Francisco, CA
1994–98
Native America: Reflecting Contemporary Realities, traveling exhibition, American Indian Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, CA
1994
Homeland Use and Desire, Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA
1992
Colorado University Art Gallery, Boulder, CO
1992–
American Encounters 1992, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

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.”