Grounded in Clay is a collaborative exhibit curated by the Pueblo Pottery Collective and organized by the School for Advanced Research and the Vilcek Foundation.
EXHIBITION TOUR
OCT 19, 2024 – JAN 12, 2025
THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON
HOUSTON, TEXAS
MAR 7 – SEPT 14, 2025
Saint Louis Art Museum
Saint Louis, Missouri
An impressive survey of more than 100 pieces of historic Pueblo pottery, Grounded in Clay is remarkable for the fact that its content has been selected by Pueblo community members. Rather than relying on Anglo-American art historical interpretations, this book foreground Native American voices and perspectives. More than 60 participants from 21 Pueblo communities in the Southwest – among them potters and other artists, as well as writers, curators and community leaders – chose one or two pieces from the collections of the Indian Arts Research Center at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Vilcek Collection in New York. They were then given the freedom to express their thoughts in whichever written form they wished, prose or poem. Their lively, varied contributions reveal the pottery to be not only a utilitarian art form but also a powerfully intangible element that sits at the heart of Pueblo cultures. With magnificent photography throughout, Grounded in Clay showcases the extraordinary history and beauty of Pueblo pottery while bringing to life the complex narratives and stories of this most essential of Native American arts.
GROUNDED IN CLAY IN THE WILD
The Met’s Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery (on through June 4/24) is a must-see - it showcases not only beautiful pottery but a different curatorial approach: it was developed by the Pueblo Pottery Collective, nearly 60 Pueblo community curators from the 21 Pueblo tribes in the US Southwest who each selected 1-2 works for the exhibition & wrote the related text (I include the curator for each piece in square brackets). I don’t have room here for the full stories of these pieces - more info is at groundedinclay.org. Other exhibition works are on view vilcekfoundation in NYC. The exhibition will travel next to mfahouston & then stlartmuseum.
📷 1 Exhibition entrance & Jar, Lonnie Vigil (Nambé, b. 1949), 1995 [Nora Naranjo Morse (Kha’p’o Owingeh/Santa Clara), describes Vigil’s process & the call of the clay]
📷 2 Jar, Mogollon artist, c. 1050-1300 [Tara Gatewood (Isleta/Diné) - vessel as a doorway to connect with those who came before, with designs echoed in modern pots]
📷 3 Bowl, Precontact Pueblo artist, c. 1150-1250 [LeeAndrea Bernal Trujillo (Taos), relates bowl to a pottery sherd found near her home]
📷 4 Bean pot with lid, Lorencita Pino (Tesuque, 1899-1986), 1963 [Mark Mitchell (Tesuque), grandson of artist, saw her make similar pieces]
📷 5 Figure of woman with bowl, Jeralyn Lujan Lucero (Taos), 1995 [Dr. Christina M. Castro (Taos, Jemez, Chicana), relative of artist, piece embodies spirit of Taos Pueblo women]
📷 6 Mono figure, Cochiti Pueblo artist, c. 1900 [Mateo Romero (Cochiti)]
📷 7 Storage jar, Acoma Pueblo artist, c. 1880 [Brian D. Vallo (Acoma), describes likely use & classic Acoma designs]
📷 8 Jar, Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo (Tewa/Hopi, 1928-2019), 1980 [Michael Namingha (Ohkay Owingeh-Hopi)]
📷 9 Nahohai Tribute Pot, by 6 Zuni & Hopi potters, 2016 [Timothy Edaakie (Zuni, 1974-2020), 1 of 6 potters, honours Randy Nahohai, Zuni potter who revived Zuni pottery tradition]
📷 10 Yupkoyvi (The Place Beyond the Horizon), Michael Namingha (Ohkay Owingeh-Hopi, b. 1977), 2023 - Fajada Butte, Chaco Canyon, sacred mountain & home to Chacoan Sun Dagger calendar
All 📷 imagesofantiquity / theflowoftravel (sandra.flow)
Apr 25
![The Met’s Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery (on through June 4/24) is a must-see - it showcases not only beautiful pottery but a different curatorial approach: it was developed by the Pueblo Pottery Collective, nearly 60 Pueblo community curators from the 21 Pueblo tribes in the US Southwest who each selected 1-2 works for the exhibition & wrote the related text (I include the curator for each piece in square brackets). I don’t have room here for the full stories of these pieces - more info is at groundedinclay.org. Other exhibition works are on view vilcekfoundation in NYC. The exhibition will travel next to mfahouston & then stlartmuseum.
📷 1 Exhibition entrance & Jar, Lonnie Vigil (Nambé, b. 1949), 1995 [Nora Naranjo Morse (Kha’p’o Owingeh/Santa Clara), describes Vigil’s process & the call of the clay]
📷 2 Jar, Mogollon artist, c. 1050-1300 [Tara Gatewood (Isleta/Diné) - vessel as a doorway to connect with those who came before, with designs echoed in modern pots]
📷 3 Bowl, Precontact Pueblo artist, c. 1150-1250 [LeeAndrea Bernal Trujillo (Taos), relates bowl to a pottery sherd found near her home]
📷 4 Bean pot with lid, Lorencita Pino (Tesuque, 1899-1986), 1963 [Mark Mitchell (Tesuque), grandson of artist, saw her make similar pieces]
📷 5 Figure of woman with bowl, Jeralyn Lujan Lucero (Taos), 1995 [Dr. Christina M. Castro (Taos, Jemez, Chicana), relative of artist, piece embodies spirit of Taos Pueblo women]
📷 6 Mono figure, Cochiti Pueblo artist, c. 1900 [Mateo Romero (Cochiti)]
📷 7 Storage jar, Acoma Pueblo artist, c. 1880 [Brian D. Vallo (Acoma), describes likely use & classic Acoma designs]
📷 8 Jar, Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo (Tewa/Hopi, 1928-2019), 1980 [Michael Namingha (Ohkay Owingeh-Hopi)]
📷 9 Nahohai Tribute Pot, by 6 Zuni & Hopi potters, 2016 [Timothy Edaakie (Zuni, 1974-2020), 1 of 6 potters, honours Randy Nahohai, Zuni potter who revived Zuni pottery tradition]
📷 10 Yupkoyvi (The Place Beyond the Horizon), Michael Namingha (Ohkay Owingeh-Hopi, b. 1977), 2023 - Fajada Butte, Chaco Canyon, sacred mountain & home to Chacoan Sun Dagger calendar
All 📷 imagesofantiquity / theflowoftravel (sandra.flow)](https://groundedinclay.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
The Met’s Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery (on through June 4/24) is a must-see - it showcases not only beautiful pottery but a different curatorial approach: it was developed by the Pueblo Pottery Collective, nearly 60 Pueblo community curators from the 21 Pueblo tribes in the US Southwest who each selected 1-2 works for the exhibition & wrote the related text (I include the curator for each piece in square brackets). I don’t have room here for the full stories of these pieces - more info is at groundedinclay.org. Other exhibition works are on view vilcekfoundation in NYC. The exhibition will travel next to mfahouston & then stlartmuseum.
📷 1 Exhibition entrance & Jar, Lonnie Vigil (Nambé, b. 1949), 1995 [Nora Naranjo Morse (Kha’p’o Owingeh/Santa Clara), describes Vigil’s process & the call of the clay]
📷 2 Jar, Mogollon artist, c. 1050-1300 [Tara Gatewood (Isleta/Diné) - vessel as a doorway to connect with those who came before, with designs echoed in modern pots]
📷 3 Bowl, Precontact Pueblo artist, c. 1150-1250 [LeeAndrea Bernal Trujillo (Taos), relates bowl to a pottery sherd found near her home]
📷 4 Bean pot with lid, Lorencita Pino (Tesuque, 1899-1986), 1963 [Mark Mitchell (Tesuque), grandson of artist, saw her make similar pieces]
📷 5 Figure of woman with bowl, Jeralyn Lujan Lucero (Taos), 1995 [Dr. Christina M. Castro (Taos, Jemez, Chicana), relative of artist, piece embodies spirit of Taos Pueblo women]
📷 6 Mono figure, Cochiti Pueblo artist, c. 1900 [Mateo Romero (Cochiti)]
📷 7 Storage jar, Acoma Pueblo artist, c. 1880 [Brian D. Vallo (Acoma), describes likely use & classic Acoma designs]
📷 8 Jar, Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo (Tewa/Hopi, 1928-2019), 1980 [Michael Namingha (Ohkay Owingeh-Hopi)]
📷 9 Nahohai Tribute Pot, by 6 Zuni & Hopi potters, 2016 [Timothy Edaakie (Zuni, 1974-2020), 1 of 6 potters, honours Randy Nahohai, Zuni potter who revived Zuni pottery tradition]
📷 10 Yupkoyvi (The Place Beyond the Horizon), Michael Namingha (Ohkay Owingeh-Hopi, b. 1977), 2023 - Fajada Butte, Chaco Canyon, sacred mountain & home to Chacoan Sun Dagger calendar
All 📷 imagesofantiquity / theflowoftravel (sandra.flow)
Ceramics on View Now: “Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery” metmuseum was curated by the Pueblo Pottery Collective, a group that includes sixty individual members of diverse ages, backgrounds, and professions, who represent twenty-one source communities. The exhibition is accompanied by a publication.
“Pueblo Indian pottery embodies four main natural elements: earth, water, air, and fire. It is an art form literally of land and place, and is one of America’s ancient Indigenous creative expressions.
Foregrounding Pueblo voices and aesthetics, Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery is the first community-curated Native American exhibition in the history of The Met. The effort features more than one hundred historical, modern, and contemporary clay works and offers a critical understanding of Pueblo pottery as community-based knowledge and personal experience.”
Selected works are the Indian Arts Research Center of the schoolforadvancedresearch and the vilcekfoundation
#ceramics #clay #pueblopottery #nativeamericanart #nativeamerican #nativeamericanpottery #metropolitanmuseumofart #pueblopotterycollective #puebloceramics #claycommunity #vilcekfoundation #indianartsresearchcenter #sar #museumexhibition #nativeamericanexhibition #spiritofpueblo #groundedinclay #groundedinclaythespiritofpueblopottery #earth #air #water #fire
Jan 6
Ceramics on View Now: “Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery” metmuseum was curated by the Pueblo Pottery Collective, a group that includes sixty individual members of diverse ages, backgrounds, and professions, who represent twenty-one source communities. The exhibition is accompanied by a publication.
“Pueblo Indian pottery embodies four main natural elements: earth, water, air, and fire. It is an art form literally of land and place, and is one of America’s ancient Indigenous creative expressions.
Foregrounding Pueblo voices and aesthetics, Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery is the first community-curated Native American exhibition in the history of The Met. The effort features more than one hundred historical, modern, and contemporary clay works and offers a critical understanding of Pueblo pottery as community-based knowledge and personal experience.”
Selected works are the Indian Arts Research Center of the schoolforadvancedresearch and the vilcekfoundation
#ceramics #clay #pueblopottery #nativeamericanart #nativeamerican #nativeamericanpottery #metropolitanmuseumofart #pueblopotterycollective #puebloceramics #claycommunity #vilcekfoundation #indianartsresearchcenter #sar #museumexhibition #nativeamericanexhibition #spiritofpueblo #groundedinclay #groundedinclaythespiritofpueblopottery #earth #air #water #fire
Taking a pause on ndnartober to share this sticker created for schoolforadvancedresearch a few months ago ✨
• • • •
This sticker was designed for an exhibition that is currently traveling around the country titled ‘Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery’ which features pottery created by various pueblo artists.
This sticker is placed on crates that the pottery is traveling in with the bold words ‘PUEBLO COUNTRY’ and a pottery design to represent the exhibition’s purpose🏺
• • • •
Thank you Elysia Poon for your lead collaboration in the development of this sticker. Video on slide 2 provided by schoolforadvancedresearch 🌱
See more details about this traveling exhibit at groundedinclay.org
• • • •
#groundedinclay #haatzeedesigns #graphicdesign #illustration #lagunapueblo #puebloart #schoolforadvancedresearch
Oct 5
Taking a pause on ndnartober to share this sticker created for schoolforadvancedresearch a few months ago ✨
• • • •
This sticker was designed for an exhibition that is currently traveling around the country titled ‘Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery’ which features pottery created by various pueblo artists.
This sticker is placed on crates that the pottery is traveling in with the bold words ‘PUEBLO COUNTRY’ and a pottery design to represent the exhibition’s purpose🏺
• • • •
Thank you Elysia Poon for your lead collaboration in the development of this sticker. Video on slide 2 provided by schoolforadvancedresearch 🌱
See more details about this traveling exhibit at groundedinclay.org
• • • •
#groundedinclay #haatzeedesigns #graphicdesign #illustration #lagunapueblo #puebloart #schoolforadvancedresearch
#groundedinclaythespiritofpueblopottery #themet #onlystepsaway
#groundedinclay: #thespiritofpueblopottery
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#pueblopottery #nativeamerican #communitybased #indigenous #clay #barro #temporaryexhibition #pueblopotterycollective
Feb 29
#groundedinclay: #thespiritofpueblopottery
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#pueblopottery #nativeamerican #communitybased #indigenous #clay #barro #temporaryexhibition #pueblopotterycollective
#met #womendressingwomen #groundedinclaythespiritofpueblopottery
The best piece of the Met show is undoubtedly Lonnie Vigil (Nambe Pueblo) “Jar” from 1995. The rest of the show was not as exciting as it could have been. The work chosen was, frankly, not as great as I have seen in New Mexico. I understand the curator’s motive behind having the pueblos select the work to represent themselves, but the results are disappointing. C’est dommage! Still, I loved the great black micaceous Jar. Here with my oldest son, Maximillian. #pueblopottery #groundedinclay #hotceramics #ceramicartist #ceramicarts #metnyc #micaceouspottery #micaceousclay #olga__brava #metropolitanmuseumofart #ceramicsshow
May 8
The best piece of the Met show is undoubtedly Lonnie Vigil (Nambe Pueblo) “Jar” from 1995. The rest of the show was not as exciting as it could have been. The work chosen was, frankly, not as great as I have seen in New Mexico. I understand the curator’s motive behind having the pueblos select the work to represent themselves, but the results are disappointing. C’est dommage! Still, I loved the great black micaceous Jar. Here with my oldest son, Maximillian. #pueblopottery #groundedinclay #hotceramics #ceramicartist #ceramicarts #metnyc #micaceouspottery #micaceousclay #olga__brava #metropolitanmuseumofart #ceramicsshow
In 1974, the great Octavio Paz, Mexican poet, diplomat and Nobel prizewinner in literature, wrote in praise of hands. He titled it “In Praise of Hands,” suggesting we honor craftsmen and women because they—not the modern artist or designer—provide “continuity between past and present.” The simple object, he wrote, meant to be used and admired, helps teach us to “mistrust the mirages of history and illusions of the future.” Here, the maker has imbued the everyday object with spirits and story, inviting us all. Photo: Clay water jar, American Southwest: Pueblo nation, late 1800s. Shot in portrait mode and studio light on iPhone. The same photo in normal lighting and exposure is second in the set … #craft #crafts #clayart #metropolitanmuseumart #newyorkcity #groundedinclaythespiritofpueblopottery #pottery #metmuseum #octaviopaz100años #octaviopazquotes #octaviopaz #native#nativeart #nativeamerican #indigenous #illuminative #tribalart #spirit #spiritart
Jan 23
In 1974, the great Octavio Paz, Mexican poet, diplomat and Nobel prizewinner in literature, wrote in praise of hands. He titled it “In Praise of Hands,” suggesting we honor craftsmen and women because they—not the modern artist or designer—provide “continuity between past and present.” The simple object, he wrote, meant to be used and admired, helps teach us to “mistrust the mirages of history and illusions of the future.” Here, the maker has imbued the everyday object with spirits and story, inviting us all. Photo: Clay water jar, American Southwest: Pueblo nation, late 1800s. Shot in portrait mode and studio light on iPhone. The same photo in normal lighting and exposure is second in the set … #craft #crafts #clayart #metropolitanmuseumart #newyorkcity #groundedinclaythespiritofpueblopottery #pottery #metmuseum #octaviopaz100años #octaviopazquotes #octaviopaz #native#nativeart #nativeamerican #indigenous #illuminative #tribalart #spirit #spiritart