Exhibits
June 2023 through June 2024
Lucho Soler, Maria M. Martinez, Michelle Dominguez, and Lori Barkwill Love, Curators
LUCHO SOLER FINE POTTERY ART
Amerind is proud to announce a new for-sale exhibit entitled: Lucho Soler Fine Pottery Art. Since the age of 10, Lucho has experimented and worked with clay for nearly 60 years. His pottery has been showcased in galleries across the US and in Peru. Born in Lima, Peru, Lucho has extensively studied the ancient pottery of the Andean area of South America. He has also spent time working with the potters of Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. The product of this long journey of pottery exploration is a unique one-of-a-kind work of art, which represents a blending of old, new, Peruvian, and Southwest techniques and designs.
This exhibit features 40 of Lucho’s finest pieces. Each pot was formed by hand, traditionally fired, and laboriously polished with agate stones. Lucho uses a variety of design techniques, such as fine gold appliques, carved designs, and all-natural pigment paints and slips. He incorporates his interpretation of ancient geometric and figurative motifs to create a unique and beautiful, contemporary ceramic masterpiece.
February 14, 2023 through 2024
Eric Kaldahl, and Maria M. Martinez, Curators
Collection Spotlight:
The lindsays' wedding vases-a love story
In modern times, ceramic artists and gallery owners focused collectors’ attention on the symbolism of two spouts stemming from one reservoir of life-giving water. Today these vessels are popularly called “wedding vases.” Contemporary forms of the wedding vase have become gifts of well-wishing to couples.
For Alexander and Jane Lindsay, married in 1952, wedding vases became a frequent gift to one another on special occasions. Their four daughters also added to their collection over the years. Together for over 65 years, the couple’s collection grew to over 300 vessels, of which over 200 were gifted to the Amerind by Jane and her children. The Lindsays acquired many of the pots from Indigenous artisans, most residing in the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico. From unknown artists to very accomplished potters.
Now on exhibit are select pieces from the Lindsay family wedding vase collection, a love story for all to enjoy.
Photograph: Double-spouted olla by potter Tomasita Montoya, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, New Mexico.
September 2023 through June 2024
Maria Arvayo, Eric J. Kaldahl, Maria M. Martinez, Curators
Inspired by texas canyon: the art of maria arvayo
I had the opportunity to complete an artist residency at Amerind in the spring and fall of 2020. During this time, I hiked the various fire access roads and trails on the grounds and did a number of plein air paintings. After leaving I did a few more. In the spring of 2022 and 2023, I was able to teach multi-day plein air classes on the grounds. A few of the demonstration pieces are also included. I’m always inspired by the landscape in Southern Arizona, and I hope to share my appreciation for the particular kind of beauty that is abundant in the land and sky here. I’m very grateful for having had the opportunity to explore Amerind, and I think it’s wonderful that other visitors will have better access to the spectacular landscape. – Maria Arvayo
Maria Arvayo is a painter and a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe living in Tucson, Arizona. She utilizes a variety of media including watercolor, pastel, acrylic, oil, and encaustic. She works and teaches in her studio at the Art & Design Center in Tucson and exhibits locally. This is her second solo exhibit at the Amerind.
Photograph: Hilltop, oil on board, Painting by Maria Arvayo
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
American Art Form: A Century of A:shiwi (Zuni) and Diné (Navajo) Jewelry
Zuni and Navajo jewelers create some of the most distinctive and beautiful jewelry in the world. Amerind is the proud home of a newly donated jewelry collection built over three generations, from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth century, which includes thousands of pieces by hundreds of artists. This exhibit showcases the history and development of this jewelry and the artists who made these remarkable pieces and put their art form on the world stage.
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
Without Borders: The Deep History of Paquimé (Bilingual Exhibit)
Visitors can walk through this exhibit, inspired by the architecture of Paquimé, and explore sixty years of research in Chihuahua, Mexico. Paquimé was one of the most socially, politically, and ceremonially important towns in the region. It grew into a leading community in northern Mexico in the late AD 1200s and flourished through the end of the AD 1400s. Home to some of the most remarkable architecture, civil engineering, and ceramic artistry in the region—the ancient town has been designed by the United Nations as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Partially funded by Arizona Humanities, The Robert J. Wick Family Foundation, and the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
Fleet of Foot: Indigenous Running and Games from Ancient Times to Today
Among all the people of the world, running and games are universal. Across cultures and traditions, sports and running are universal activities that can help us relate to one another. In the differences among our sports practices, we gain new insights into the ways of other communities. This exhibit considers running and running sports among the Indigenous communities of the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico. Partially funded by Arizona Humanities.
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
Indigenous Water/Ways
The Indigenous peoples of the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico treasure water in all its forms. This exhibit showcases Amerind pottery, baskets, jewelry, weavings, wood, shell, and antler carvings with water designs and motfis.Visitors will also learn about the way Indigenous farmers used water and engineered the land to nourish their crops.
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
A Singular Treasure: The Katsikodi Story Robe
Visitors can view an elk hide painted with scenes of hunters, singers, and dancers, created by the Eastern Shoshone artist Katsikodi. He is believed to have been born inthe 1860s and passed away around 1912. Over 20 of his distinctive painted robes have survived the forces of history, largely now preserved in museum collections like Amerind’s. Friends of Western Art supported the conservation of this elk hide.
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
Ma Fulton’s FF Ranch
Amerind’s founders Rose Hayden Fulton (1881-1968) and William Shirley Fulton (1880-1964) moved to Arizona in 1930. Mrs. Fulton, affectionately known as Ma Fulton, had a ranch operation where she raised and trained some of the finest quarter horses in the United States. Photographs of her horses, ranch hands, and operations are on exhibit along with her prize winning ribbons and trophies.
Permanent Exhibit
Charles Di Peso, Anne Woosley, Allan McIntyre, John Ware, Carol Charnley, and Eric Kaldahl, Curators
The Pine Study
The Pine Study was installed on the occasion of Mr. Fulton’s 80th birthday in the year 1960. The wood paneling and furnishings came from the Fulton family home in Connecticut. Many of Mr. Fulton’s personal effects are found in this exhibit. The paintings on the wall were done by family members and friends. The Pine Study served as Mr. Fulton’s office for the last years of his life.
Permanent Exhibit
John Ware and Carol Charnley, Curators
Images in Time
Built in 1939, the museum building’s main gallery houses artistic treasures created by Indigenous artists from the Arctic to Mexico. Many of the pieces were made during the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. Visitors will learn about the amazing diversity of Indigenous cultures found throughout North America.
Permanent Exhibit
John Ware and Carol Charnley, Curators
Apache People and History
The Chiricahua Apache people’s history in southeastern Arizona is rich and complex. Visitors will have an overview of the many Indigenous groups who speak the Apache language, and learn about the history of the Chiricahua Apache people specifically.
Permanent Exhibit
John Ware, Curator
Indigenous Dolls
In the museum building entryway, your little ones will find a great selection of Indigenous dolls, lovingly made by parents and grandparents from all across America.
Permanent Exhibit
Carol Charnley and Ron Bridgemon, Jr., Curators
The Potters of Mata Ortiz
Potters from the Mexican town of Mata Ortiz in Chihuahua, Mexico, were inspired by the ancient potters of Paquimé creating beautiful reproductions of that ancient craft. They then began new pottery traditions with finely painted and incised pottery in new shapes and styles. This exhibit shows how these potters are inspired by the past, but are creating new traditions for the future.
Permanent Exhibit
Carol Charnley, Curator
Diné Arts
Known for their weaving and silver work, Diné woven rugs, weaving tools, silversmithing tools, and other arts are found at several locations on the museum’s second floor.
Permanent Exhibit
Anne Woosley and Allan McIntyre, Curators
Hallway of Time
Connecting the 1939 and 1950 wings of the Amerind museum building, this hallway lets visitors peer into the archaeology of the American Southwest. Visitors will learn about the most ancient human tools found in Arizona used some 13,000 years ago. Here to people will learn about the most well studied farming cultures of the America Southwest: Huhugam (Hohokam), Mogollon, and Ancestral Pueblo peoples. These farming communities flourished some two thousand years and their descendants still call this region home.
Permanent Exhibit
Anne Woosley and Allan McIntyre, Curators
Spanish Colonial and Mexican Religious Art
Amerind sits on land that Indigenous people have called home for 13,000 years. In historic times, the governments of Spain, Mexico, and the United States have exercised their sovereignty over the region. This exhibit displays the religious arts of colonial Spain, Mexico, and more contemporary pieces rooted in the Spanish colonial tradition.
Permanent Exhibit
Anne Woosley and Allan McIntyre, Curators
North American Indigenous Arts
The Amerind is home to the arts of Indigenous people from across North America. Now on exhibit are examples of cradleboards from many Indigenous communities. These cradleboards show the love and care of their makers for their children. Also on exhibit are personal accessories and clothing adorned with porcupine quillwork and beadwork.
Permanent Exhibit
Anne Woosley and Allan McIntyre, Curators
Yesterday's Amerind
This small enclosed room gives visitors of sense of Amerind museum history. From 1936 until the 1980s, the Amerind was closed to the public. To see its private collections, visitors had to call for an appointment. This exhibit gives today’s visitors a sense of how Amerind’s collection was displayed in the early years of our museum’s history.
Permanent Exhibit
Hopi Katsina Carvings and Hopi Plaques
