Jeanette Katoney Original Painting titled “Marking a Journey 1” [SOLD]

“Marking a Journey 1” is an original painting by Diné of the Navajo Nation artist Jeanette Katoney. It is an abstract image completed in natural pigments of the artist’s own making. Circles and spirals in red, black, and gray appear in a rhythmic arrangement on pink bark paper. Due to both the paper and the natural pigments, the piece is rich in both color and texture.

In an attached artist’s statement, Katoney describes how she came to work with this unique medium: “Joe Ben Jr., a well-known Navajo sand artist, encouraged me to explore not only ideas, but the materials of my ancestors. In sand, I am able to incorporate most of what I grew up with from infancy to my life today. Many colors of sand are found at various sites on the reservation, enabling me to use only natural materials. Getting and using sand is done with prayers and offerings. The earth is female in Navajo, so the sand gives me, as a female Navajo artist, a great connection from which to develop artistic expression. With pastels, as with the oils, I feel this gender connection with the materials in my works. It gives me a good feeling to be able to use both materials and ideas from my heritage.”

The painting is signed J. Katoney in lower right. It is mounted on a green backing, under glass, in a wood frame.

Jeanette Katoney (1967- ) is a Diné artist who was born in 1967 in Winslow, Arizona. “As an abstract artist,” Katoney says, “my inspirations come mostly from the Navajo female weavers in my family. My mother, Alice Katoney, has been a weaver all her life. Growing up on the Navajo Reservation near Hardrock, Arizona, I was influenced by my mother, aunts and grandmother. Now several of my nieces are rug weavers as well. I chose to express myself in two dimensional abstract media.” Katoney has exhibited widely and placed works in many prominent collections.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Jeanette Katoney Original Painting titled "Marking a Journey 1" is from a private collection, purchased from the artist in 2009 at an Arizona State Museum exhibition of Native artists

Recommended Reading: Jacka, Lois Essary. “The New Generation of Indian Artists,” Arizona Highways, November 1992

TAGS: Diné of the Navajo Nation, Native American Paintings, Jeanette Katoney, Diné - Navajo Nation Artist