Contemporary Acoma Pueblo Black on White Tall Seed Jar by Dorothy Torivio [SOLD]

Acoma Pueblo potters have always been known for their ability to render the most elaborate fine-line designs. Intricate geometric patterns painted in black and red on a white slipped background have been the hallmark of Acoma Pueblo artists for over a century.   In the 1970s Dorothy Torivio took pottery of Acoma Pueblo to a whole new level. Her complex, eye-dazzling designs painted with painstaking precision reflected the *Op-Art movement of the 70s. Her innovative designs won her numerous awards and accolades.

As in all her pottery, this seed jar was meticulously shaped and decorated. The vessel rises from a small base, expands outward and upward to the widest diameter, then rolls in and up to a graceful elevated rim, reminiscent of a volcano crater.

The black paint was made from boiling leaves of the Rocky Mountain bee plant. The residue hardens in a manner like watercolor pigments.  When wet with a brush, it liquifies. It is then painstakingly applied by using a brush made of the fibers of a yucca leaf.

The complex design on this small pot was typical of the work of this artist.  The “kite” design is at its minimum size at the rim of the jar, almost too small to see.  Each level expands in size as the design progresses down the shoulder.  At the widest part of the vessel, the design achieves its maximum size, then begins to diminish in scale as it continues to the base of the jar.

If one looks at only a single black kite in a white circle and then contemplates repeating it a hundred or more times in expanding and contrasting size, it would appear to be near impossible to complete without making mistakes.  Obviously, Dorothy Torivio was a potter of talent and patience and it is those qualities that made her such an outstanding success.

This seed jar is a visual masterpiece. It is signed with the name of the artist and pueblo on the bottom.

Condition: this Contemporary Acoma Pueblo Black on White Tall Seed Jar by Dorothy Torivio is in excellent condition

Provenance: From the collection of a family from New Jersey

Recommended Reading: Art of Clay - Timeless Pottery of the Southwest by Lee M. Cohen, whose Gallery 10 featured the works of Dorothy Torivio

*What is Op-Art? Op-art works are abstract, with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images, flashing and vibrating patterns, or of swelling or warping. -Wikipedia