Harrison Begay
Collaboration with
son, Daniel
Stop &
Listen
9 3/4"
H x 8 1/2" D
This special piece comes from
our own private collection. Because we're introducing Daniel
Begay's work for the first time to our clients, we wanted to
make this one-of-a-kind centerpiece available again as well.
It was acquired directly from Harrison at the Heard Indian Market
before Daniel began producing pottery on his own.
This represents a unique opportunity
for collectors to acquire a piece of pueblo pottery history "in
transition." Harrison collaborated with his son Daniel to
create this piece. Harrison's pottery skills combined well with
his son's creative thinking and contemporary theme.
The title of the piece is
Stop & Listen, suggesting that we all ought to take
a moment to stop and take a step back and let in all the beauty
that's around you. There is music in everything that's alive.
We loved the theme, the design
scheme - with the modern man and his outstretched hand, the music
notes floating by mingled with stylized dragonflies, and the
geometrics in the background symbolic of the metropolitan jungle
some of us live or work in.
Especially impressive are
the technical aspects of the pottery, which Harrison has mastered
over the years - the size and shape of the pot, the type of vessel,
with handles on each side (almost symbolic of ears!),
and of course the rich, chocolate brown finish that can only
be achieved through the careful process of oxygen reduction techniques
- halting somewhere between redware and blackware.
Harrison was raised near Keams
Canyon, Arizona, in the small Navajo community of Jeddito. In
college, he trained as a painter in a fine arts curriculum. He
turned to pottery and began to enter his pieces in numerous awards,
winning major awards from the '80s until the present. While married
at Santa Clara, he learned the New Mexico pueblo style of pottery
from his mother-in-law.
He is regarded as one of today's
major artists. His work is featured in important galleries, museums,
and private collections around the world. He has certainly taken
the traditional Santa Clara style and improvised upon it in a
unique and innovative fashion. His work is unmistakable.
Harrison's lines are clean
and his cuts are deep. He is certainly one of the most accomplished
potters in this style. His high polish finish contrasts strikingly
against the deliberate matte finish of the rest of the pot.
Add a piece by Harrison Begay
to your collection and see why so many have been impressed with
this talented and humble artist.
