This week's art feature takes a look at "Namingha Family: Landscape, Form, and Light." The exhibit, comprised of art by Dan Namingha and his two sons, Arlo and Michael, is on display at the Heard Museum through January 27.
Dan Namingha's art, defined by his bold use of color and form, dominates the show. Namingha's work is heavily influenced by his upbringing on the Tewa-Hopi Village of Polacca, writes Tricia Parker.
Here's an except from Parker's art feature from the print edition:
Dan Namingha's paintings dominate this show. They are bigger and bolder than his sons' creations. A family resemblance among the works here is subtle, if it's there at all. Dan has been making art for more than 40 years. He started painting as a kid in the Tewa-Hopi Village of Polacca. If you've seen the mesas between Window Rock and Tuba City or Keams Canyon, even in pictures, you begin to understand the influence of this sacred landscape on a young Hopi painter. In fact, the Naminghas are great-great-(then great again)-grandchildren of renowned Hopi potter Nampeyo, who was born in 1860 and raised one village over in Hano, on First Mesa. This family's artistic heritage and legacy clearly extend beyond gallery walls. (Actually, the legacy literally extends around the corner in an alcove exhibit, "Elegance from Earth: Hopi Pottery." Advice: See this history lesson while you're there.)
Read the full "Namingha Family: Landscape, Form, and Light" review.
