“Rox’s World” Etching by Roxanne Swentzell [SOLD]

This six panel, limited edition etching made by Santa Clara Pueblo sculptor Roxanne Swentzell is a glimpse into the world of Roxanne. It consists of six individual images she created, put together into one whole. They depict scenes she titled "The Canyon, The House, The Fields, The Studio, The Garden, and The Feast".

Although known more as a sculptor, it's very clear from this work that Swentzell is extremely talented and thoughtful as an artist in any capacity. Each of the panels is extraordinarily detailed, featuring attention to the smallest of spaces within the scene. There are a few figures featured, such as a woman walking toward the Studio, a woman in the Garden, and dancers dressed in regalia in the Feast.

Some of the plants, animals, and living quarters are made with such intricacy that one could spend hours just observing one panel. Each could easily be its own work, but all flow together to create one full scene. Coincidentally, each of the six images was a single panel issued as such. Eventually, Roxanne put the six together and limited its edition to six copies. This one is number 6 of 6. It is signed in lower right, and titled in center bottom.

Santa Clara Pueblo artist Roxanne Swentzell comes from a family of artists—potters and sculptors. She began making clay figures at age 7. As an adult, Swentzell started to make full-length clay figures depicting "the complete spectrum of the human spirit," as her website says. In her estimation, a great deal of humanity is "out of touch with their environment," and her figures are meant to guide them back to their surroundings and feelings, including a "full range of emotions and irrepressible moods."

Roxanne Swentzell (1962 -) spends a lot of time creating female characters in hopes that it will help strike a balance between the power of men and women. Humor is also an integral part of her work.

While still in high school, this Native American contemporary legend had the opportunity to attend the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. She later found her way to the Portland Museum Art School in Oregon.

The Poeh Center's Tower Gallery in Pojoaque, just north of Santa Fe, is devoted to her pieces, and Roxanne's sculptures can be found in collections such as the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: "Rox's World" Etching by Roxanne Swentzell is from an artist and client of Adobe Gallery

Recommended Reading: CLAY PEOPLE Pueblo Indian Figurative Traditions by Jonathon Batkin, Wheelwright Museum, 1999 "Roxanne Swentzell" pages 24-31.

TAGS: Santa Clara Pueblo, Santa Fe, Pojoaque, Bronze Sculpture, Contemporary Pottery, Roxanne Swentzell