“Corn Figures” by Delbridge Honanie [SOLD]

This painting by Delbridge Honanie (1946-2017) Coochsiwukioma ("Falling White Snow") is filled with symbolism and motifs. The central subjects are five stylized, elongated figures representing Corn People (or Corn Maidens), who hold an essential, sacred place in Hopi culture, symbolizing life, fertility, sustenance, and the literal blocks of Hopi survival. Their torsos are abstractly rendered as ears of corn, detailed with a checkerboard grid pattern where each square contains a kernel or a dot representing germination and life.

The three central figures are carrying traditional pottery water jars (ollas), emphasizing the vital connection between water, corn, and the continuation of life in the arid Southwest. The fiery red and textured background is layered with dynamic, vertical drips of turquoise, white, and yellow paint. This heavily textured, abstract style mirrors the weathered surfaces of ancient kiva murals while injecting an energetic, contemporary feel. The small white step-like shapes floating above the figures represent stylized cloud symbols, calling down rain to nourish the crops. It's a beautiful, spiritually resonant piece of 20th-century Pueblo modernism.

About the Artist: Delbridge Honanie

Honanie was a towering figure in contemporary Native American art. He studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe under the legendary ceramicist Otellie Loloma, graduating in 1970. Most importantly, he was a founding member of Artist Hopid, a radical collective of five Hopi artists formed in the early 1970s (alongside Michael Kabotie, Milland Lomakema, Terrance Talaswaima, and Neil David, Sr.). The group's mission was to break away from the flat, two-dimensional "Studio Style" forced upon older generations of Native artists. Instead, they combined prehistoric kiva mural fragments (like those found at Awat'ovi and Pottery Mound), and modern international movements, such as European Cubism and Mexican Muralism.

This piece perfectly illustrates that philosophy — it is intensely modern in execution, yet entirely grounded in traditional Hopi cosmology. For his monumental contributions to preserving and reinterpreting Hopi culture, Honanie was named an Arizona Indian Living Treasure in 2006. This painting is signed DH, Coochisukioma '82 in the lower left corner.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: Displayed in the special exhibit Ancestral Symbols, Modern Masterpieces: Documenting the Sacred Narratives and History of the Hopi People at Adobe Gallery for its 50^th Anniversary Landmark Exhibition in Santa Fe, NM, May – October 2026. This painting by Delbridge Honanie "Corn Figures" 1982 is from the collection of a client of Adobe Gallery who purchased from auction in 2013.

Recommended Reading: Hopi Painting: the World of the Hopis by Patricia Janis Broder.

TAGS: Hopi Pueblo, Santa Fe, Otellie Loloma, Terrance Talaswaima, Michael Kabotie, Neil David, Sr., Native American Paintings, Katsina Dolls, Delbridge Honanie