(1965 - Present )

If the paintings are successful, they should communicate a powerful force, a feeling that is contained in all of us.

Tony Abeyta.

Tony Abeyta is considered one of the preeminent contemporary artists working today. The son of a respected Navajo painter and Anglo weaver and ceramist, Abeyta grew up in Gallup, New Mexico. He studied in France and Italy, and attended New York University, the renowned Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Immersed in the influences of some of the great Native American painters, including Fritz Scholder and T.C. Cannon, Abeyta was among the artists who vastly expanded the range of expression of contemporary Indigenous American art. His impact has had lasting effect. Although many of Abeyta's highly original works are depictions of complex Navajo beliefs, the artist views his imagery as intercultural and created out of the experience of his own life. His richly-layered works move toward abstraction, exploring both tradition and transition in a far-ranging visual dialogue. Experimenting with techniques as well as imagery, the artist explores a variety of mediums, including oil, charcoal and sand. Tony Abeyta's creativity transcends any one label.

Selected Exhibitions:

1998 Cline Fine Art Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

1997 Native Abstraction, Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, Santa Fe, NM

1997 Reinventions/Departures, Cline Fine Art Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

1997 Water, Owings-Dewey Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM

1996 US Artists '96, Philadelphia, PA

1995 Group Exhibition, Munich, Germany

1994 Narcisso & Tony Abeyta, Wheelright Museum, Santa Fe, NM

1994 J. Cacciola Galleries, New York, NY

1993 Indian Market Exhibition, Santa Fe, NM

1992 Alumni Exhibition, Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM

1991 Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD

1987 One Person Show, Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM

1987 Print Exhibition, Pembroke University, North Carolina

1985 Governor's Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

1985 Navajo Community College, Tsaile, AZ

as a career. He studied at the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe

Credit: Cline Fine Art