God of fire statue warms library
Work depicting pre-Columbian deity on display at Southside Branch
When the alebrije sculpture that stood near the entrance of the Southside Branch Library for eight months was taken down in December, the facility’s manager, Ann McGinley, hinted a new Mexican art piece could be coming in the near future.
That piece is Huehueteotl ,a clay statue of an Aztec god by Santa Fe artist Hernan Gomez Chavez, who created it during a residency in Puebla, Mexico, over the summer.
Gomez Chavez is also the creator of Un Pueblo Sin Piernas pero Que Camina, (A nation without legs that continues to move [or walk forward]), which was installed outside the library in 2022 as part of Santa Fe’s Art in Public Places program.
Librarian Aaron Oestig said Huehueteotl, or Old God, depicts a pre-Columbian deity adopted by several cultures, including the Aztecs, which considered him the god of fire. The residency was through the Arquetopia Foundation and sponsored by the city’s Arts and Culture Department, he said.
The residency focused on learning pre-Columbian ceramics techniques, including learning how to work with natural clay and to fire sculptures outdoors. Gomez Chavez said the medium was a departure from his usual work. He initially was encouraged to make a smaller piece but had entered the residency with the intention of making this.
Sidelined for a time after tearing a pectoral muscle in 2022, Gomez Chavez took a clay class at Santa Fe Community College, where he learned many basic techniques. Though he had to delay the residency due to the injury, he said he thinks having to wait a year was for the best, in part because he was much more prepared.
“It kind of forced me to slow down,” he said.
Gomez Chavez said using the traditional techniques made for a very different process than he was accustomed to, including an
outdoor firing which took only four hours — much faster than it would take to fire a piece in a gas or electric kiln. Using an actual fire also gives the work a more natural finish, similar to what a person may see on archaeological relics.
“You see some of these pieces in museums, and you still see the smoke from the fire that’s been patinated onto the surface,” he said.
As part of the agreement with the city, Gomez Chavez had to give a public talk about the sculpture after completing the residency. He chose the Southside Branch Library, a place with great meaning to him.
“I live on the south side, and the south side is very important to me,” Gomez Chavez said.
After the talk, he was approached by Oestig about having his work on display at the library after the alebrije was taken down. Gomez Chavez readily agreed.
With dimensions measured in inches instead of feet, Huehueteotl isn’t the head-turner the alebrije was. However, Oestig said it seems to be a hit with patrons.
“I’ve had several people come to the information desk asking about it,” he said.
Gomez Chavez drew inspiration for the piece from the short story The Lion and the Mirror by writer Subcomandante Marcos, spokesman and leader for the Zapatistas, a Mexican military and political organization.
Gomez Chavez said others have described the short story as an allegory about globalism or capitalism, but he views it as the inner turmoil organizations such as the Zapatistas go through when they struggle with infighting.
He said the statue is part of a planned larger installation he has yet to complete, drawing inspiration from the Zapatistas. The piece is unfinished, and he brought clay from Mexico with him in order to do more work on it. He also hopes to do an iron cast of the same figure this year.
The statue will be on display at the library through Jan. 20, after which Gomez Chavez will be taking it with him to residencies he is participating in this spring.
He said he’s glad it’s having a chance to be displayed at the library.
“It’s good that’s in the place where a lot of people will see it,” he said. “To me, that’s what’s important.”