Dorothy Torivio Optical Illusion Yucca Leaf Dish [SOLD]

There are times when one has the pleasure of seeing a piece of art clarifying the reality that certain individuals must have simply been born with something special.  Pueblo potter Dorothy Torivio was an artist like no other.  She had life experiences, being from Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, and this certainly served as a foundation for her artistic career.  Yet there is no way to describe how unique her style and creations are without the aid of seeing one.  

This dish dazzles the eye, captivating one's vision without overwhelming it.  Impossibly fine brush strokes are perfect and leave one to wonder if the pattern was computer generated.  A combination of two of her favorite motifs, a flower, and a yucca leaf— this dish is wonderfully designed.  She signed it on the back Dorothy Torivio Acoma, N.M.

A cream slip was added as a base and with painstaking attention to detail, the artist then outlined a yucca leaf pattern she designed herself with dark brown pigment.  The pattern shrinks as if by magic, with infinitely complex precision, as it moves toward the center of the dish.  

Much of the areas left cream are decorated with small, red dots. Finally, a twelve-petaled flower is stationed at the dish’s center.  There are several ways to view this dish, focusing on the negative or positive spaces are two examples.  In what manner one decides to experience it, this matte Acoma optical illusion dish is remarkable. 

Acoma Pueblo artist Dorothy Torivio (1946 - 2011) was respected as one of the finest Southwest Indian potters. She was a top award winner and was noted for her traditional pottery with eye dazzler designs based on the repetition of singular design elements in both positive and negative patterns.  Dorothy Torivio was an active potter circa 1974-2011.  She was known for her traditional black-on-white and polychrome jars, bowls, seed pots, figures, deer, owls.

Dorothy grew up watching her mother, Mary Antonio Vallo, making pottery. She was fascinated by the process, but her mother never gave her any direct instruction. That was left to her mother-in-law, Lolita Torivio Concho.

Dorothy's father worked for the railroad, and he was transferred to California in the early 1950s. She grew up and completed her education in California, but during the summer breaks, she and her mother would return to Acoma. She spent most of her teenage summers standing beside the roadway of old US Highway 66 selling her mother's and grandmother's pottery. The money she made there helped to sustain her family at Acoma. When Dorothy found herself the single mother of three kids in the early 1970s, she returned to making pottery full-time to support her family.

Condition: this Dorothy Torivio dish is in very good condition. This plate comes with a wooden stand.

Provenance: This Dorothy Torivio Optical Illusion Yucca Leaf Dish is from a private California collection

Recommended Reading: ART OF CLAY Timeless Pottery of the Southwest by Lee M. Cohen, former owner of Gallery 10

Relative Links: Acoma Pueblo, Lolita Concho; Juanita Keene; Sandra M. Victorino, Contemporary Pottery, Dorothy Torivio