Tony Abeyta Original Painting titled “Feather Fetish” [SOLD]

“Feather Fetish” is a mixed media creation by Diné artist Tony Abeyta.  The piece, which was completed in 1985, utilizes a variety of materials to create a three-dimensional viewing experience.  Abeyta punched two holes in his painted canvas, then added a thin strip of leather.  The knot that binds the strip in place also holds a grouping of feathers.

The painting onto which these materials are attached completes the image.  A stone arrowhead with a bear passes through the two holes, creating the effect of the leather and feather being tied around the arrowhead.  As usual, Abeyta’s painting is excellent, and his color choices are strong and appealing.  The cream-colored paints used for the arrowhead appear in a thicker application, creating a texture that one might find on an actual piece of carved stone.  With this piece, Abeyta used unconventional methods to create a piece with admirable depth and texture.

The painting is signed Tony Abeyta in lower left and dated 1985 in lower right.  The canvas is wrapped around a wood frame and ready to hang.

Navajo artist Tony Abeyta (1965- ) is one of the most prominent contemporary Native American painters.  Abeyta was educated at Santa Fe's Institute of American Indian Arts, the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, and overseas in Italy and Southern France.  Abeyta described his creative motivations thusly: “I want my work to reinforce the ideology of Indian religion, its strength, its beauty and semblance. I work to create an interpretation of these deities translated through myself and given an identity devoid of their actual documented existence. I'm more interested in an icon or the idea, which these beings represent. This system of ritual belief is the most important basis in Indian culture and ensures its infinite existence.”  Abeyta’s father was Diné painter Narciso Platero Abeyta (1918-1998) Ha So De.

Condition: good condition with a few minor abrasions

Provenance: this Tony Abeyta Original Painting titled "Feather Fetish" is from the estate of an Albuquerque family

Recommended Reading: 100 Artists of the Southwest by Douglas Bullis

Relative Links: Diné - Navajo Nation, Native American Fine Art, Narciso Platero Abeyta, blankets, prehistoric, Kachinas, jewelry, painting, Tony Abeyta, Diné Painter