Adobe Gallery Blog

Curating an exhibition is always a collaborative effort. In my role at Adobe Gallery, I’ve had the privilege of learning from the deeply knowledgeable Alexander E. Anthony, Jr. Few things match the thrill of researching artists and artworks, and I am especially drawn to modern painters and historic potters. Fortunately, the Southwest offers an endless supply of art, set in a landscape that naturally invites and inspires creators to produce true masterpieces. An idea that indigenous communities know all too well.

The most gratifying moment for any curator is seeing an exhibition come to life. Connecting viewers with the excitement of art is what it's all about, particularly for modern pieces like those featured in Ancestral Symbols, Modern Masterpieces: Documenting the Sacred Narratives and History of the Hopi People. As the title implies, these modern artworks draw deep inspiration from the ancestral kiva murals found across the Hopi Nation (Hopituh Shi-Nu-Mu).

During the 1930s, only a decade before the members of Artist Hopid were born, Harvard’s Peabody Museum excavated the murals at ancient ruins of Awatovi Village in the name of Archeological research. There are a lot of Native Americans who disagree with Archeology and the research that comes out of the field, because disturbing remnants of the past is considered disrespectful. However, the members of Artist Hopid saw publications with these mural paintings, like many painters and potters from the Hopi Nation (Hopituh Shi-Nu-Mu) during this time and even until today.