Untitled Painting of Katsina Maiden playing Rasping Gourd

Hopi Pueblo artist Milland Lomakema created this original painting. Lomakema was a member of the Artist Hopid, a group organized in 1973 by Hopi artists Michael Kabotie, Terrance Talaswaima, and Neil David, Sr. The objectives of the group were to use Hopi art to instill pride and identity, to educate the world to the aesthetic and cultural values of the Hopi, to develop new ideas in Hopi art, and to document Hopi history through the visual arts.

With this piece, Lomakema offered a profile depiction of a Katsina maiden. She is kneeling, dressed for a ceremonial function, playing a rasping gourd. Lomakema's work with the figure is gentle, thoughtful, and precise. Overhead, a stylized cluster of clouds brings rain. A curving line passes through the bottom of the cloud formation, sending jagged lightning arrows up and to the left. This is a tremendously appealing piece from an artist whose work is consistently impressive.

The painting is signed Dawakema in lower right. It is framed beautifully, in a thin wood frame.

Milland Lomakema (1941-2021) Dawakema was a Hopi Pueblo artist. Lomakema was a self-taught artist with no formal training in the arts, although he attended several schools over the years. He was a member of a notable group of artists called the Artist Hopid. In the late 1950s, he traveled with an education tour group throughout the east coast of the United States and Canada. In the mid-1960s, he worked with a detective agency in Phoenix, then he joined the Hopi police force in 1968, during which time he devoted most of his spare time to painting. He won first place in the Heard Museum's National Indian Art Show in 1968 for one of his paintings. He continued to receive recognition and awards for his work, and is today considered to be an important part of an influential group of artists.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: from the collection of a client from California

Recommended Reading: Hopi Painting - The World of the Hopis, Patricia Janis Broder. Published by Brandywine Press Book, New York, 1995.

TAGS: Hopi Pueblo, Michael Kabotie, Terrance Talaswaima, Neil David, Sr., Native American Painting, Milland Lomakema