de la Cruz, Juan and Lois Gutierrez – 15″ Tall “Pablita Velarde Tribute” Storage Jar

14.5"w x 15"h

$ 7,500.00

This is an exceptional large storage jar by Juan de la Cruz.  He is known for his painted polychrome pottery.  Juan is a son of noted potter Lois Gutierrez.  Lois made the jar and Juan, who is noted for his illustrations, painted the design using natural clay slips. The jar is a striking shape with a round body and an elongated neck.  The body of the jar has three intricately painted scenes.  The piece is so intricately painted Juan said it took him over a month just to finish painting!  He wrote of the piece:

“For this piece I drew inspriation from the wonderful paintings of Pablita Velarde and her depictions of “woman’s work”.  The first panel depicts the firing of traditonal black Santa Clara pottery.  In the second panel family memebers are dressing a dancer in her regalia.  The third panel shows the winnowing of the harvested corn.  As a side note, I had the great privilge of attending the Wheelwright Museum’s exhibition of her work and meeting her in 1993.  Her beautiful artwork has always been an inspiration for me.”

The jar was traditionally fired and it is a true polychrome (more than three colors of clay).  It is signed on the bottom.  It is accompanied by a watercolor painting with the description on the back.  While Juan is new to the pottery world, he recently won “Best of Pottery” at Gallup Ceremonials in 2017 and again in 2019.  He has been featured in articles in Cowboys & Indians Magazine and Native Art Magazine in 2018 and most recently was the subject of an article in Native Art Magazine (Fall/Winter 2019).