Navajo Textiles & Hopi Katsina: Messages from Native America
Press release Nader Gallery, Milano 27 January 2006
Exhibition 16 February – 12 March 2006 in Milano, Italy
The arrival of this unique exhibition of rare Navajo textiles and Hopi
kachinas at the Nader Gallery in Milan is an important milestone to
collectors of American Indian art as well as to those who collect noted
contemporary art works. The exhibition is organized by Nader Soubuti Karim,
owner of the gallery, considered one of the top ten collectors and experts
in Italy, in collaboration with Ray Trotter . Many artists, including two
as diverse as Paul Klee and Roy Lichtenstein, have been influenced and
inspired by Native American designs and motifs such as those included in
this exhibition at the Nader Gallery. In addition to the beauty, grace,
and historical importance of the works presented in this show, they are
prized because of the spiritual dimension they embody, their cultural
significance, and the fact that they represent the most rare and beautiful
specimens of Native American art in existence. At the opening, Patrizia
Antonicelli, an Italian born living in Santa Fe (NM), will introduce the
collection and the new way of knowing and tasting New Mexico and native
arts & craft.
Textiles
The periods of Navajo weaving have been designated by Joe Ben Wheat in
Blanket Weaving in the Southwest (2003) as Pre-Classic (before 1800),
Classic (1800-1865), Late Classic (1865-1880), and Transitional
(1880-1895), followed by the Rug and Modern periods of the twentieth
century. Included in this exhibition is an exemplary Navajo wool serape
woven in the late 1860s-1870s with a bright variegated red background and
bold pattern using yellow, indigo-dyed blue and green, and white
coloration. The results are spectacular, and the piece is appreciated for
its bold, almost contemporary feel. Two other serapes in the exhibition
are
Noteworthy: a beautiful example done in the 1870s-80s with stripes,
center diamonds, and wonderful use of browns and oranges; and a Late
Classic serape dated from the late 1860s to early 1870s woven of churro
wool with a terraced design and interesting center diamond pattern. Also
included in the show are two elegant saddle blankets, much prized for
their dignified, almost sparse design.
Katsina
The Hopi and Zuni are the two groups best known for katsina. Those in
the present exhibition are all Hopi, made between the 1880s and the 1920s.
Katsina are not recent innovations; the Spanish wrote in the 1500s of
seeing them hanging in pueblo homes. During katsina ceremonies and dances,
the men wear the masks and dress of the spirits, because it is believed
they embody the spirit of the katsina icons
Nader Gallery – Via S. Marta 10, 20121
Milan, Italy www.nader.it
Opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10.00
a.m - 8.00 p.m thursday 10.00 a.m. - 10.00 p.m. & Sunday by
appointment.
