BOLD VIEWS
Long-time friends Nocona Burgess and Greyshoes exhibit their works in a two-man show at Manitou Galleries.
SANTA FE, NM
Artists Nocona Burgess and Greyshoes (Upton S. Ethelbah Jr.) have been friends for more than two decades, but have never exhibited in a two-man show before. That is, until now. April 10 through May 3, Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will pair Burgess’ paintings with Greyshoes’ sculptures in a dynamic display of bold colors, solid designs and forms, and stories of Native American heritages.
Burgess, whose portrait style paintings are immediately recognizable for their colors and contemporary compositions, will have around a dozen pieces in the show. The works are inspired by his careful research and passion for sharing the story of each person depicted—both past and present.
One of his pieces in the exhibition is Two Hatchet – Medicine Rattle, a painting of Two Hatchet of the Kiowa tribe. Burgess, who is Comanche and Kiowa, has silhouetted the man against a bright blue background. The figure itself is also done in blue values, while the blanket over his shoulders is red, and holds rattles and
feathers in his hands.
“I try to think about the way the people dress. It was their fashion and style in the contemporary time,” Burgess says. “A lot of times we see the blackand-white pictures from the 1880s and early 1900s, so people often think of this really stale buckskin outfit. But, I know there were blanket designs and materials they were trading. I look at how people were dressing, and it's very colorful. People read it wrong because the image is black and white, but I add the color so it looks modern because it was colorful.”
Along with the historic figures, he will have paintings of contemporary women in the show including the female seen in Archers Moon – Atlanta Series. “The reason I'm doing contemporary people is I kind of joke that we're the same people, we're just wearing different clothes,” he says. “We still have the same kind of struggles. There's still the same fight.”
Complementing Burgess' paintings will be Greyshoes' stone and bronze sculptures. The artist, who is White Mountain Apache, is quick to explain the process he uses to make his bronzes, since it often confuses people. Instead of the more traditional method with clay and wax, his stone sculptures are shipped to a foundry in Prescott Valley, Arizona, where they mold the original to create the bronze pieces.
“When my stone pieces are returned to me, they're ready to be sold as the original piece, so it's the best of both worlds,” Greyshoes says. “I can sell the stone original or the limited edition bronzes.”
Greyshoes' bronzes are not only unique in the process, but also in the colors that he uses for the works.
Some have turquoise, and others pinks and purples. “It's kind of funny because many times I'll get out a box of crayons and I'll do a rough sketch and then start playing with color combinations,” he says. One of those pieces is The Basket Weaver, which has a turquoise patina and is filled with imagery from five different tribes that are known for their basketry—santa Clara, Navajo, Apache, Hopi and Tohono O'odham.
His newest bronze, Eternal Eagle Dancer, will also be available at Manitou. The original stone piece was hand-sculpted from 250 pounds of Irish black marble. “That represents an Eagle dancer at Santa Clara Pueblo,” Greyshoes says. “It's a stylized eagle, but underneath the beak is the face of the man who is the dancer.”
To celebrate the exhibition, Manitou Galleries will have a reception opening night at its Canyon Road location from 5 to 7:30 p.m.